A man was arrested Tuesday in connection with the heroin overdose death of a homeless man in Hicksville three months ago, Nassau police said.
Second Precinct officers were called to the Hicksville Long Island Rail Road station to help a man having difficulty breathing on May 23 and upon arrival they found Thomas Callahan, 42, unconscious and not breathing on the platform. The homeless man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Homicide Squad detectives conducted a joint investigation with Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police and arrested Edward Plakstis, 26, on charges of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of criminal injection of a narcotic drug, all felonies.
““Despite having Callahan’s consent, you cannot inject a narcotic without a medical license,” said Homicide Detective Sgt. Richard Laursen. “Drug dealers need to know we’re looking for them.”
Investigators said Plakstis sold heroin to Callahan and an unidentified 41-year-old man and that he unidentified man injected Callahn twice, leading to his death. Laursen noted that it hasn’t been determined if the overdose caused his death or if the heroin was cut with something else. The unidentified man was hospitalized but is not cooperating with investigators.
Plakstis will be arraigned Aug. 12 in Hempstead.
With Anthony V. Brienza
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