ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- Earlier this month, officers with the Odessa Police Department saved the life of a 14-year-old boy who reportedly overdosed on fentanyl laced pills; investigators said the teen’s older brother supplied the drug. Angel Ramos, Jr., 18, has been charged with Endangering a Child, a state jail felony.

According to an affidavit, on November 4, officers responded to a home after someone called 911 and reported the overdose. At the scene, investigators found an unconscious teen; officers said the boy was not breathing and was cold to the touch. First responders quickly began chest compressions and administered Narcan, a drug that rapidly reverses and blocks the effects of opioids, including fentanyl. Their efforts successfully revived the boy. 

Investigators then spoke with the teen’s older brother, identified as Ramos. He reportedly told police that he was caring for his younger siblings, ages 14 and 16, while their parents were working. He said he’d obtained pills known as M30s from another teen in town and had crushed them up and allowed his younger siblings to try the drug. 

Ramos was arrested and taken to the Ector County Law Enforcement Center where he was later released on a $10,000 bond. 

OPD has been sounding the alarm about fentanyl laced pills since early this year after emergency physicians at Medical Center Hospital treated seven people for fentanyl related overdoses in one weekend. 

In January,  Dr. Jeff Pinnow, Vice Chief of Staff at MCH, issued a warning for parents.

“There has been a steep increase in overdoses… and it’s been primarily amongst young people,” Pinnow said.

Pinnow said it’s the nature of teenagers to want to try new things, which is why it’s important for parents to talk to their children.

“Most of the time with the young people it’s not that they have an addiction… it’s mostly that they are experimenting…and they are trying new things. These drugs they are taking, they have no idea what’s in them and unfortunately, they are facing the consequences.”

Pinnow described the drug as so deadly that even skin contact can lead to an overdose.

“Fentanyl in itself is 80% to 100% more potent than morphine, it’s a very strong opiate,” Pinnow said.

It can cause difficulty breathing, low blood pressure, decreased heart rate, loss of consciousness, coma, or death.  Anyone who sees the blue pills pictured above (round with the letter M and number 30 stamped on the side) or thinks someone they know may be overdosing should call 911 immediately.