GARDENDALE – Michael Shane Hudson, 41, of Hanceville was arrested as a result of the cooperation of multiple law enforcement agencies recently. He is charged with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. Officers from the Hanceville Police Department, Gardendale Police Department, Sumiton Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office assisted in Hudson’s apprehension.
After a lengthy investigation, it was alleged that Hudson was transporting heroin from Jefferson County into Cullman County. Hudson was arrested on Interstate 65 near Gardendale on unrelated charges from the city of Sumiton.
According to Cullman County Coroner Jeremy L. Kilpatrick, “There has been a dramatic increase in heroin overdoses leading to death in Cullman, most of those coming out of the southeast area of the county.”
Kilpatrick says there have been five suspected heroin overdoses, two confirmed, this year in Cullman County. One of those was confirmed by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences Birmingham regional laboratory to be an overdose from heroin cut with fentanyl. “This time last year, there were only two deaths related to heroin overdoses,” he said.
It is suspected that the heroin coming into Cullman County from Jefferson County, allegedly through Hudson, is laced with fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is a narcotic 100 times more potent than morphine,” stated Kilpatrick.
After a court appearance in Sumiton, Hudson was arrested and transported by Jefferson County deputies to jail in Birmingham.
Hudson is being held on a $70,000 bond. According to Hanceville Police Chief Bob Long, other warrants were issued and arrests are forthcoming in the near future.
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