Intoxication

A state medical examiner ruled yesterday that 20-year-old Michael E. DePinto, whose mother found his body at their Westminster home eight days ago, died of narcotics intoxication complicated by bronchial pneumonia.Until results from additional toxicology tests are completed, the medical examiner will not be able to tell authorities what drug or combination of drugs might have been involved, said Capt. Dean Brewer, a spokesman for Westminster Police Department.The investigation is continuing, he said.

A Westminster teen-ager who was found dead at home last week died of an overdose of narcotics, probably heroin, Westminster police said yesterday.A state medical examiner has determined the cause of death of Liam A. O'Hara, 15, as "narcotic intoxication -- heroin," police said. The boy's father found him about 7: 30 a.m. Jan. 9.State's Attorney Jerry F. Barnes said the medical examiner would perform further toxicology tests to determine with certainty that the narcotic was heroin.Michael O'Hara, father of the Westminster High School sophomore, said yesterday that he and his family would do whatever they could to cooperate with the police investigation.

ANNAPOLIS -- The Maryland Department of Natural Resources cited six recreational boaters for intoxicated boating during a random check Friday and Saturday on the South River, a DNR spokesman said.DNR officers performed safety checks on 92 boats between the Route 2 bridge and the Riva Road bridge, Anne Arundel County's busiest boating thoroughfare, the spokesman said.Pub Date: 8/12/96

A 21-year-old Columbia man was charged with driving while intoxicated after his car struck a woman walking across the street Tuesday night, Howard County police said.Thomas Hocker, of Cross Fox Lane in Columbia's Wilde Lake village, was released on personal recognizance hours after the accident, a District Court commissioner said.The victim, Freda Goldberg, 51, of the 8300 block of Montgomery Run Road in Ellicott City, was released from the Maryland Shock Trauma Center yesterday afternoon.

Howard County police stopped 643 vehicles during a surprise sobriety checkpoint on busy U.S. 1 in North Laurel Saturday, charging seven people with driving while intoxicated.The officers stationed near Davis Avenue, just north of the Prince George's County Line, were part of a string of enforcement officers from Baltimore County to Washington, said Sgt. Glenn Hansen, head of Howard's Traffic Enforcement Section. The intersection monitored between late Friday and 3 a.m. Saturday has been the scene of many accidents in the past.

Suffocation caused the death of a 24-year-old Virginia man who died in Howard County police custody shortly after being arrested for allegedly abusing an infant Christmas Eve, a report from the state medical examiner's office said Friday.Police had originally attributed the death of Jose Inez Melendez of Alexandria, Va., to respiratory failure.The medical examiner's report also confirmed original claims by police that Mr. Melendez's blood alcohol concentration of 0.34 -- three times the legal limit for intoxication -- contributed to his death.

A 25-year-old woman pleaded guilty to homicide by motor vehicle while intoxicated yesterday in Anne Arundel Circuit Court stemming from her role in a May 1 car accident in Glen Burnie that killed her passenger.Melissa Ann Kramp of the 3200 block of Lily Ave., Baltimore, was convicted by Judge Raymond G. Thieme Jr. based on a statement of facts read by Assistant State's Attorney Darryl Jones.Mark A. Uhlig, 26, of the 1700 block of Selma Ave., Arbutus, Ms. Kramp's passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Memorial Day, celebrated by most as the beginning of summer, is enjoyed as a weekend of recreation and fun by Americans of many different ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds and traditions.Whether you plan to celebrate at home around a backyard barbecue, or out with friends at a park, lake or beach, you can do some simple things to prevent alcohol-related problems from ruining your fun.The U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention offers the following tips for adults attending or having Memorial Day activities where alcohol may be served:* Do not make drinking the main purpose of a Memorial Daygathering.

We are fortunate, those of us who use boats for recreational purposes in Maryland. We have a couple of thousand miles of tidal rivers and hundreds of miles of non-tidal waters to explore and enjoy -- whether under sail, engine power or in rowboat, canoe or kayak.The Chesapeake Bay, rivers, canals and creeks are a part of our heritage -- whether we are fishermen, sailors, water skiers and jet skiers or river runners.Memorial Day weekend traditionally kicks off the boating season, although many of us have been on the water since daytime temperatures hit the upper 40s or lower 50s.Memorial Day also kicks us into the lazy days of late spring and summer, when a day on the water becomes especially attractive and a cold brew seems to fit as comfortably in one's hand as a tiller or wheel.

An Annapolis man faces up to five years in prison and a $3,000 fine after pleading guilty yesterday to vehicular homicide while intoxicated in a November 1991 accident that killed a man crossing the street with his dog.Kenneth James Campbell, 36, of the first block of Silopanna Road, pleaded guilty to running down and killing Kevin Hicks, 41, of the 1700 block of Belle Drive, on Nov. 20, 1991. Hicks was pronounced dead shortly after being struck by Campbell's 1976 Ford pickup truck while walking his dog at 8:40 p.m. along Forest Drive, prosecutors said.

Maryland health officials told state lawmakers yesterday that they were taking steps to minimize possible abuse of the addiction treatment buprenorphine as they spend millions to expand its availability. While insisting that misuse is currently not a serious problem, they outlined precautions in an appearance before a House of Delegates committee. These include screening for buprenorphine in overdose deaths, coordinating with police to monitor street sales and supporting a bill that would call for monitoring prescription drugs, including buprenorphine.

Drug-intoxication deaths among Baltimore residents reached their lowest point in a decade last year, dropping significantly from a record high in 1999 when 238 people died, according to statistics released yesterday by the city's Health Department. Officials linked the 33 percent decrease to a concurrent increase in funding for drug treatment services -- which has nearly tripled in the past decade -- and a more than 60 percent increase in slots available to drug addicts in need of help.

A state medical examiner ruled yesterday that 20-year-old Michael E. DePinto, whose mother found his body at their Westminster home eight days ago, died of narcotics intoxication complicated by bronchial pneumonia.Until results from additional toxicology tests are completed, the medical examiner will not be able to tell authorities what drug or combination of drugs might have been involved, said Capt. Dean Brewer, a spokesman for Westminster Police Department.The investigation is continuing, he said.

A Westminster teen-ager who was found dead at home last week died of an overdose of narcotics, probably heroin, Westminster police said yesterday.A state medical examiner has determined the cause of death of Liam A. O'Hara, 15, as "narcotic intoxication -- heroin," police said. The boy's father found him about 7: 30 a.m. Jan. 9.State's Attorney Jerry F. Barnes said the medical examiner would perform further toxicology tests to determine with certainty that the narcotic was heroin.Michael O'Hara, father of the Westminster High School sophomore, said yesterday that he and his family would do whatever they could to cooperate with the police investigation.

ANNAPOLIS -- The Maryland Department of Natural Resources cited six recreational boaters for intoxicated boating during a random check Friday and Saturday on the South River, a DNR spokesman said.DNR officers performed safety checks on 92 boats between the Route 2 bridge and the Riva Road bridge, Anne Arundel County's busiest boating thoroughfare, the spokesman said.Pub Date: 8/12/96

Howard County police stopped 643 vehicles during a surprise sobriety checkpoint on busy U.S. 1 in North Laurel Saturday, charging seven people with driving while intoxicated.The officers stationed near Davis Avenue, just north of the Prince George's County Line, were part of a string of enforcement officers from Baltimore County to Washington, said Sgt. Glenn Hansen, head of Howard's Traffic Enforcement Section. The intersection monitored between late Friday and 3 a.m. Saturday has been the scene of many accidents in the past.

A 21-year-old Columbia man was charged with driving while intoxicated after his car struck a woman walking across the street Tuesday night, Howard County police said.Thomas Hocker, of Cross Fox Lane in Columbia's Wilde Lake village, was released on personal recognizance hours after the accident, a District Court commissioner said.The victim, Freda Goldberg, 51, of the 8300 block of Montgomery Run Road in Ellicott City, was released from the Maryland Shock Trauma Center yesterday afternoon.

A 25-year-old woman pleaded guilty to homicide by motor vehicle while intoxicated yesterday in Anne Arundel Circuit Court stemming from her role in a May 1 car accident in Glen Burnie that killed her passenger.Melissa Ann Kramp of the 3200 block of Lily Ave., Baltimore, was convicted by Judge Raymond G. Thieme Jr. based on a statement of facts read by Assistant State's Attorney Darryl Jones.Mark A. Uhlig, 26, of the 1700 block of Selma Ave., Arbutus, Ms. Kramp's passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Suffocation caused the death of a 24-year-old Virginia man who died in Howard County police custody shortly after being arrested for allegedly abusing an infant Christmas Eve, a report from the state medical examiner's office said Friday.Police had originally attributed the death of Jose Inez Melendez of Alexandria, Va., to respiratory failure.The medical examiner's report also confirmed original claims by police that Mr. Melendez's blood alcohol concentration of 0.34 -- three times the legal limit for intoxication -- contributed to his death.

Memorial Day, celebrated by most as the beginning of summer, is enjoyed as a weekend of recreation and fun by Americans of many different ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds and traditions.Whether you plan to celebrate at home around a backyard barbecue, or out with friends at a park, lake or beach, you can do some simple things to prevent alcohol-related problems from ruining your fun.The U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention offers the following tips for adults attending or having Memorial Day activities where alcohol may be served:* Do not make drinking the main purpose of a Memorial Daygathering.