NORFOLK, Va (WSLS 10) - Attorney General Mark Herring, along with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are cracking down on the heroin epidemic in the Commonwealth.
Today, Herring announced plans specifically for the Tidewater region where he assigned a prosecutor to work with the U.S. Attorney's Office to focus on high priority cases.
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He says heroin and prescription drug addiction is an issue that spans across the entire state, noting that 728 Virginians died in 2014 from heroine and prescription drug overdoses.
"When you're talking about drugs this dangerous, this addictive and this deadly, all it takes is a few bad actors to create a real public health crisis," Herring said.
Today's announcement followed a plea agreement for Gregory Hatt. He faces heroin distribution charges and firearms charges in Virginia Beach.
Prosecutors say Hatt supplied heroin that led to a women's overdose death.