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Posted: May 16, 2023 5:09 PMUpdated: May 16, 2023 5:09 PM

2 Dead of Suspected Overdose Following BPD Traffic Stop

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Nathan Thompson

Two men are dead following a suspected overdose after a Monday traffic stop by Bartlesville police.

According to a news release from interim Police Chief Jay Hastings, BPD officers conducted a traffic stop near Price Road and Washington Boulevard on Monday, May 15 at approximately 11:24 p.m. During the stop, 47-year-old Jeffery Mack Hawkins, a passenger in the vehicle, was arrested on an active warrant. The driver, 47-year-old James Warren Chucalate, was released.

A short time after Hawkins was transported and booked into the Washington County Jail, Hastings says he began having seizures and was transported to the hospital, where he died of a suspected overdose. At about the same time, police officers responded to a call of an overdose in the 2000 block of Southeast Osage Avenue. Upon arrival, it was discovered the victim was Chucalate, the driver of the vehicle stopped earlier by police. Chucalate was transported to the hospital, where he was also pronounced dead of a suspected overdose.

Based on information provided by witnesses to BPD officers on the scene, it is suspected that both Hawkins and Chucalate may have ingested narcotics at the time of the traffic stop earlier that evening. At the time of the stop, neither Hawkins nor Chucalate showed signs of illness or intoxication.

The cause of death for both the deceased will be determined by the medical examiner. The investigation remains ongoing.

 


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