2 Charged With Fentanyl Distribution After Overdoses At Wakefield HS

ARLINGTON, VA — A 19-year-old and a juvenile were charged with distribution of fentanyl in connection with two student overdoses at Wakefield High School, the Arlington County Police Department said Tuesday.

Last Wednesday, two girls at Wakefield were found suffering from apparent fentanyl overdoses. One victim was given a dose of Narcan, and both were transported to an area hospital and have since recovered, police said.

Walter Zelaya Padilla, 19, of Fairfax was charged with distribution of fentanyl to a person under the age of 18, distribution of narcotics in a school zone and other charges, police said. Padilla was held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.

A boy also was charged with distribution of fentanyl, distribution of narcotics in a school zone and conspiracy to distribute narcotics. Virginia law prevents the release of the juvenile suspect’s name or other information.

At about 11:45 a.m. on Sept. 27, police were dispatched to Wakefield in response to the two girls who had appeared to overdose. In their investigation, detectives identified Padilla as the person suspected of supplying the controlled substances to the juvenile, who in turn supplied the fentanyl to the girls, police said.

Last month, the NAACP Arlington Branch and the League of United Latin American Citizens Arlington Council called on the Arlington County Board and Arlington Public Schools to hold an "emergency session on the opioid crisis" after a Wakefield student died of a suspected opioid overdose.

In that case, when paramedics arrived at an apartment complex on Columbia Pike on the evening of Sept. 21, Wakefield freshman Jorge Chavarria Rodíguez, 16, had already died, according to reports.

In late January, a teen boy was found unconscious in a Wakefield bathroom after an apparent overdose. The boy died a few days later.

Anyone with information about narcotics activity in Arlington can report information by using the ACPD’s Confidential Drug Activity form.

Police also said the overdoses at Wakefield remain an active criminal investigation and anyone with information can contact the Arlington County Police Department’s tip line at 703-228-4180 or by email at ACPDTipline@arlingtonva.us.

RELATED:

• 2nd High School Overdose Death Prompts Call For 'Emergency Session'
• Student Who Reportedly Overdosed At Arlington's Wakefield High Dies