ANDOVER — A young couple, high on a mix of heroin, LSD and possibly some other kind of drugs, got lost in dense woods along the Shawsheen River off Lowell Junction Road early this morning and ended up arrested on drug and other charges when police found them after a two-hour search.
Brendan Gibson, 24, of Harvest Drive, North Andover, is charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute, resisting arrest, two counts of assault, trespassing, and domestic assault and battery. His girlfriend, Amanda Norcia, 20, of Floyd Street, Everett, is charged with possession of heroin and trespassing.
Gibson was taken to Lawrence General Hospital for treatment after his arrest, said Andover Police Lt. Commander James Hashem. When Gibson was found by Tewksbury and State Police at around 5:15 a.m., he was naked and covered in feces, Hashem said. He became aggressive and wouldn't get out of the car he and his girlfriend had driven into the Servio Grove Reservation, a town-owned campsite off Lowell Junction Road. He was pepper-sprayed once, to no effect, and Tasered twice, Hashem said.
"He was very combative at the scene," Hashem said. He is now unconscious in the hospital, Hashem said. "He is non-responsive."
He was treated at Lawrence General Hospital emergency center this morning then released to police around 10 a.m.. according to a hospital spokeswoman.
They are both scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon.
Hashem said Gibson was "under an extreme influence of unknown drugs."
In addition to heroin, police also found other, unidentified drugs on Gibson, but believe the main drug being used was heroin.
"We're not sure what they ingested," Hashem said. "It seems to be a combination of heroin and LSD."
Hashem said the incident started at about 3:15 a.m. when Andover police dispatch got a call from a woman on her cell phone saying she was lost in the woods near Lowell Junction Road. She said she didn't know how to get out, was high on LSD, and that her boyfriend had bitten her in the face. Norcia was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Hashem said the couple drove their Volkswagen Jetta from Lowell Junction Road, down a fire road and into the conservation land known as Serio's Grove. The town created a campsite at the Grove, complete with picnic benches, a pavilion and canoe launching sites on the Shawsheen River.
For an hour-and-a-half police attempted to pinpoint their location using the woman's cellphone, but she was confused and the terrain was difficult, making it hard for police to locate them.
Tewksbury and State Police accessed the wooded area from the end of Pine Cone Lane, while Andover police entered the area from Lowell Junction Road.
The couple was eventually found by police near railroad tracks and the Shawsheen River.
As police were attempting to bring them out, Gibson became combative and "attacked State and Tewksbury police. O.C. (pepper-spray) was used to no effect. He was Tasered twice, and then taken into custody."
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