Police Bust East Austin Pair For K2 Possession As War Is Waged Against Drug

EAST AUSTIN, TX — Police this week seized 87 bags of K2 synthetic marijuana after a surveillance at an East Austin apartment complex, according to law enforcement officials said on Wednesday.

The Austin Police Department teamed up with the Austin DEA during a surveillance of an apartment at 1137 Gunter St. on Tuesday, responding to suspicions that residents there were engaged of K2 distribution.

Ultimately, residents Rojelio Amaro Jr., 24, and Augustine Amaro, 21, were taken into custody after a search warrant was obtained by police to search the unit at 1 p.m. this past Tuesday, police said. Inside the apartment, police found the bags of K2 representing 2,600 doses of the drug were ultimately seized as evidence.

The case is being presented to the U.S. Attorney's Office for federal prosecution pending the lab results of the suspected K2. Both subjects are currently out on bond for 1st Degree Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute K2.

The scourge of K2 has hit Austin especially hard in the last few weeks. On April 9, medics with Austin-Travis County EMS rushed to treat nine people taking ill after ingesting the synthetic drug, seven of whom required hospitalization.

And that was a slow day for medics. The day before, EMS officials reported on Twitter, medics treated 39 felled K2 users, including 14 requiring hospitalization.

On April 7, a whopping 49 people required medical attention after K2 ingestion, 16 requiring hospitalization, Austin-Travis County EMS officials reported. The day before, yet another 20 patients felled by K2 were treated by medics.

City officials joined law enforcement authorities at a recent press conference to speak of the scourge, with Mayor Steve Adler labeling the rampant K2 use as an "emergency' item. He said an emergency resolution committing to support the city manager and public safety officials help eradicate the problem would be drafted, along with a public education campaign to warn the public of the drug's dangers.

Adler then addressed the public directly, referring to the K2 drug by its common "spice" street name: "I am not here to tell you not to do drugs, we all know that," Adler said. "But i am here to tell you not to use this drug. I don't want anyone to be confused: This drug puts people in the hospital every day, and even one hit of this drug can do serious damage."

Making its distribution even more insidious is that the cheap drug is being sold primarily to an already vulnerable homeless population, Adler noted. A hit costs about $5, a police representative said, and already one homeless person has died as a result of ingesting the K2 drug.

"K2 is being sold to people experiencing homelessness in our community," Adler said. "This is our most vulnerable population that are Austinites, and we will be judged on how we will help them. They need our help, and they need our protection."

The mayor spoke of those profiting off the illicit trade: "The people who are preying upon the homeless because they are homeless deserve to experience the fullest extent of our law enforcement and judicial system," Adler said. "For those that are orchestrating and profiting off this misery, I don't know if there's a special place in hell for them, but there is definitely a place in prison with their name on it."

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