Sen. Casey hopes bill recently passed in Senate will reduce drug-related deaths if it’s made law

Fentanyl is responsible for more than 85% of overdose deaths in Allegheny County, according to local law enforcement.

U.S. Senator Bob Casey is trying to drastically reduce that number with the Fend Off Fentanyl Act that was recently passed in the Senate. The bill still needs to go through the House of Representatives.

“It can’t come soon enough for the people of Allegheny County, or commonwealth of PA, and our country,” Sen. Casey said.

The bill would impose sanctions with respect to trafficking fentanyl, which Casey says would make it more difficult for cartels and other criminal groups to bring the deadly drug into the U.S.

“The scale of this is almost unimaginable. This wasn’t the case a few years ago, but we’re dealing with this now in too many families,” Casey said.

Once the drug makes it here, and into the hands of local dealers, is when some are questioning their punishments.

Just last week, Allegheny County Police arrested Dontez Peoples, and announced a “significant” drug bust, after saying they found 41 bricks of heroin and fentanyl, crack cocaine, and other drugs in his apartment. Two children also lived at the home.

>> More than 40 bricks, bundles of fentanyl found in Pittsburgh apartment where children reside

Channel 11 has learned that the same day he was arrested and County Police put out their press release, Peoples was let out of jail on a non-monetary bond.

We asked Senator Casey about the case.

“I think most of that is determinations made at a county and state level in terms of resources, and in terms of the willingness of a court to hold someone fully accountable,” Casey said.

This case follows the high-profile arrest and subsequent release without bail of a man stopped with more than $1.5 million worth of fentanyl at the Pittsburgh Greyhound station in the fall.

District Attorney Stephen Zappala publicly voiced his frustration in that case, and called the judge who presided over it a “liability.”

>> Man charged with transporting more than $1.5M in fentanyl fails to appear in court for 2nd time

We asked Allegheny County Police if they had a comment on the fact that Peoples was released from jail within hours of his arrest, and a spokesperson said they did not.

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