Authorities filed federal charges Friday against the man they think is responsible for selling the heroin that killed a Derby man and caused two overdoses in Shelton.
Bradley Commerford, 21, faces a “federal drug charge stemming from the alleged sale and delivery of heroin,” according to a prepared statement from Derby police.
Authorities late Friday did not name the specific criminal charge but said more information will be released Monday.
Police and EMS responded to 156 Hawthorne Ave. in Derby about 5 a.m. Wednesday. Inside a residence they found the 23-year-old man in desperate need of medical attention.
He died a short time later.
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The medical examiner has yet to release a cause and manner of death, but, based on the initial investigation, police believe the victim overdosed from heroin he obtained from Commerford.
A second Derby man died of a suspected overdose Wednesday evening on Summit Street. Commerford has been not charged in connection to that incident. The investigation continues.
The two deaths in Derby happened 24 hours after two nonfatal overdoses in Shelton. Commerford is suspected as the supplier in the Shelton overdoses as well.
Police worked the investigation around the clock because they worried more people would ingest heroin and immediately drop dead. Derby police issued a warning within 60 minutes of the second death Wednesday.
Commerford was initially picked up Thursday on a violation of probation charge.
Just last month Commerford was sentenced to three years probation for sale of a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell, and second-degree threatening, all in Derby, according to online court records.
He also has two misdemeanor charges pending at Superior Court in Derby, including interfering with an officer. Those charges, along with two motor vehicle charges, are out of the City of Derby as well.
His last known address was Sixth Street in Derby, according to online court documents.
In 2006, when Commerford was 10, his older sister, Angela Krasowski, then 23, gave heroin to one of Commerford’s 13-year-old friends during a sleepover in Shelton, according to the Hartford Courant.
The teen died.
Commerford’s sister was sentenced to prison, along with her ex-husband, James Krasowski.
Two people on the Valley Indy’s Facebook page who said they know Commerford said he has a drug problem.
Investigation Continues
No other overdoses have been reported in Derby or Shelton since Wednesday.
“This investigation remains active and ongoing,” according to a statement from Derby police.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and detectives from the Derby, Shelton, Ansonia, and Monroe police departments assisted in the investigation.
The DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad most likely got involved in the case because of the pressing danger — that is, potentially tainted heroin circulating. They specialize in controlled substances probes. Click here to read their PR.
Anyone with information should call the Derby Police Department at (203) 735‑7811 or the DEA at 203 – 497-5200.
All calls are confidential.
