By Nathan Mayberg
WEST MILFORD — Last November, 32-year-old Kevin Kajor died at his family's West Milford home from an apparent heroin overdose.
He was one of at least five heroin overdose victims that West Milford police responded to in the past year.
Unlike the two other victims, who police revived through the use of Narcan, Kajor could not be saved.
Kajor was one of dozens of largely young Passaic, Sussex and Bergen county residents swept up in a heroin crackdown last year by police and prosecutors. He was awaiting sentencing on a heroin possession charge at the time of his death.
In April, across the border in the town of Warwick hamlet of Pine Island, 21-year-old Hayley Brown died from a heroin overdose. Her father, Patrick Brown, wanted the community to know.
"Her death was brought on by a terrible addiction to narcotics. This seems to be an epidemic here in Orange County that she got into," he wrote in a letter to The Warwick Advertiser.
Drug arrests have increased in recent years as heroin use has gone up, reflecting a trend nationwide.
This year, West Milford police have made 13 arrests for heroin, painkillers and hypodermic needles.
Police made eight such arrests last year, West Milford Det. Eric Darnsteadt said.
Darnstead believes there has been a "tremendous" increase in the number of heroin addicts in recent years.
Narcan save
Last October, police responded to a West Milford mother's call for help after she found her 27-year-old son unresponsive.
West Milford Lt. Keith Ricciardi said the man had "very shallow breathing" and a "very, very weak pulse. He was completely out of it."
Police deployed the anti-opiod nasal spray into his nasal cavity to revive his breathing.
"There was a good chance he wasn't going to make it," Ricciardi said.
According to police, he ingested two bags of heroin.
There is a Good Samaritan Law in New Jersey that protects heroin overdose victims and those that call for help from arrest as long as they don't have a large amount for distribution.
Police did arrest a 22-year-old Wayne woman at the scene who was wanted on a warrant.
Narcan is required to be carried by all police departments in New Jersey.
"We're here to serve and protect," Ricciardi said. "Just because these people put themselves in harms way doesn't mean we shouldn't help them. We have to save them, just like we would any other person."
Heroin has been an issue in the community. Where as before, the department might utilize a search warrant once or twice a year, Darnsteadt said the department now executes seven or eight search warrants in a year on homes where police have evidence that drug activity is occurring.
Darnsteadt said the department has "primarily" been seeing heroin users in the 18-27 range.
In West Milford sixth grade classes, police have taken part in the REAL (Resistance Education and Leadership) program, which is focused on stopping bullying and the use of drugs.
The first class graduated from high school this year, so it's "yet to be seen" what type of an effect the program will have on students, Darnsteadt said.
The department has brought other programs to the high school to warn students about the dangers of drugs. That includes visits from former students who have gone through Passaic County Drug Court as well as "Jesse's Journey," about a Mahwah man who suffered brain damage and was paralyzed after a brush with heroin as a teenager.
Darnsteadt believes the majority of burglaries and thefts are tied to those addicted to heroin.
This year, there have been 24 reported burglaries in the town as of August and seven related arrests. Last year, there were 62 burglaries in the town and 15 arrests. The majority of those caught are local to the area.
The family
The families of heroin addicts "are the biggest victims," Darnsteadt said.
Some heroin users become desperate for cash, start borrowing money from friends and their parents, he said.
When that runs out, they will pawn belongings, sell items from the house or as a last resort take from other homes and vehicles.
The impact on the family grows as a user gets entangled in a web of court fines, legal fees and possible jail time.
Families are broken, he said.
"They don't know what else to do."
The impact can be so great that the stress involved will lead to heart attacks of family members.
"Equal Opportunity Destroyer"
Skip McLaughlin, founded New Life Recovery Center in West Milford 24 years ago.
In the last 10 years, he has noticed "a marked increase" in the number of heroin users entering his rehabilitation facility.
He believes the number of addicts being checked in has stabilized over the past couple years.
"The demographics haven't changed," he said. "It's an equal opportunity destroyer."
Patients at the New Life Recovery Center can take part in individual or group therapies. It is not an overnight rehabilitation center.
The ages of heroin addicts typically runs between 20 and 22.
"Once it gets a hold of you, you're kind of done," he said.
About 40 patients currently use the center.
When heroin involves young people, meaning teenagers, the cause is almost always peer pressure, McLaughlin said. Young drug users experimenting with marijuana, which has become more prevalent, can be turned onto heroin by friends.
Others turn to heroin after using heavy painkillers, such as Oxycodone.
The cheapness of the drug is also an attraction. It can be had for as little as $2.50 a bag in Paterson.
Users may buy a "brick" of heroin, or five, 10-bag bundles, and sell each bag at $5 locally to make a profit.
Oxycodone is much more expensive, which Darnsteadt believes is also contributing to the popularity of heroin.
"Nobody wants to be in pain," he said.
McLaughlin said group therapy and 12-step support groups help addicts.
Getting the family involved in attending meetings such as narcotics anonymous, is also important. Some addicts believe that finding a job will cure their problems, but it won't, he said.
Over the border
Warwick and West Milford share a number of attributes. In addition to sharing a border, they are both small, similar sized suburban communities with little violent crime.
Warwick Police Department Chief Thomas McGovern said heroin activity has grown in the last five years.
"It's here. There is no question about it," McGovern sad.
In 2014, Warwick police responded to 26 overdoses, several of which were fatal.
As of May 1, the department had responded to 11 overdoses this year.
In 2014, police made 38 arrests for controlled substances, the majority for heroin, McGovern said.
This year, there have been 16 such arrests as of May 1. Nine of those were for heroin.
In 2014, drug arrests netted 508 decks of heroin, while this year the figure is 60 decks as of May 1.
Prescription medications have become "way too expensive for the average person" which is leading to more heroin use, McGovern said.
McGovern, who has been with the force for 36 years, said heroin use has grown to a point where it's "way out of control."
"It's not just here, it's everywhere."