OCALA, Fla. – A man who Ocala police said is a heroin dealer and is accused of drugging women with heroin and raping them has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with an overdose death, officials with the Ocala police announced Wednesday.
David Long was indicted Tuesday with a multitude of charges, including first-degree murder, kidnapping, sexual battery with a firearm, drug trafficking and more.
Chief Greg Graham said the charges come after a 28-year-old woman died in October after overdosing on opioids.
Graham said Long would sell heroin to his victims, shoot them up and then rape them. Ocala police said there are other victims but couldn't say how many yet.
"This is a really bad guy and deserves to be in prison for the rest of his life," Graham said.
Police said the 28-year-old woman was dropped off at a Marion County hospital suffering from an overdose and there were signs of sexual assault. Long was arrested last year on another charge and has been held while the investigation continued.
Police showed photos of drugs inside Long's home during a news conference Wednesday.
Ocala police said it's the first time a dealer in Ocala has been charged with first-degree murder related to the death of a customer.
In January, Ocala police officers received the overdose reversal drug Narcan to combat the heroin epidemic.
Last year, Ocala police said there were 17 overdose deaths in the area. This year is on track to outnumber the 2017 total. Thirteen people have been saved with Narcan and nine people have died of overdose, police said. There have been a total of 48 overdose deaths as of April 2018.
"If you're a drug dealer or an opioid dealer in Ocala, and you're selling bad heroin or any heroin and someone dies, you're going to go to jail for murder," Graham said.
Police said the department is working on several other cases where they hope to charge other drug dealers with first-degree murder.