By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
The death of a 47-year-old Val Verde County resident on Saturday may have been drug-related, Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez said today.
But Martinez told The 830 Times the death is not believed to be related to two other drug deaths that occurred in Del Rio Sunday.
The sheriff’s office was first notified Friday of problems with Matias “Cubby” Aguirre III, Martinez said in an interview this morning.
“On Friday we received a call here about 9 p.m., and deputies responded to 214 Dennis Drive in Val Verde Park Estates for an individual that was acting erratically. He was out in the street doing cartwheels without a shirt on, and a neighbor notified one of the man’s relatives. The relative called us, and we responded to that location,” Martinez said.
He said deputies who were dispatched to the Dennis Drive residence offered to call an emergency medical services team from Val Verde Regional Medical Center so Aguirre could be medically evaluated, but the sheriff said both Aguirre and his relative declined medical assistance.
“The relative then stayed with Mr. Aguirre throughout the night at that same address, taking care of him, and he also stayed throughout the next day,” the sheriff said.
The relative checked on Aguirre about 5 p.m. Saturday and found him unresponsive.
“Deputies again responded and the criminal investigations division was called out as well, and drug paraphernalia, including a spoon and a syringe, was found in the home,” Martinez said.
The sheriff said the paraphernalia indicates possible heroin use.
“Justice of the Peace Pct. 2 Antonio Faz III ordered an autopsy, and we’re still waiting for the results of that autopsy and a toxicology report,” Martinez said.
Martinez said his investigators found no obvious signs of foul play on Aguirre’s body.
He said no substances were recovered from Aguirre’s residence, but noted the spoon and syringe were collected for testing.
The sheriff said although the incident remains under investigation, he believes at this time it is unrelated to another drug incident that resulted in the deaths of two women the following night. That incident, which occurred inside the city limits, is being investigated by the Del Rio Police Department.
“We’re looking into every angle, of course, but at this time, we do not believe that this incident is related to the one that took place the following day within the city limits of Del Rio,” Martinez said.
Martinez pointed out he has deputies assigned to the local Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force and noted that agency will assist in any follow-up investigation of Aguirre’s death.
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