3 Orange County deputies recovering after fentanyl exposure during drug arrest

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Three Orange County deputies were taken to a hospital Tuesday night after a scare with a potentially deadly drug.

Deputies said they were exposed to fentanyl around 2:50 p.m. while arresting Joseph Villanueva on felony drug charges.

While taking the man to jail, he began to show signs of an overdose, and the deputies pulled over to call in medical assistance.

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The deputy gave him Narcan, which seemed to counteract the overdose.

Before long, the three deputies were also asking for help.

The deputies were rushed to the hospital after being exposed to fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain reliever, similar to morphine, but more than 50 times stronger.

Experts say contact with even a minuscule amount of fentanyl could kill you. Officials said the fentanyl tinfoil inside Villanueva's pocket tested positive for about .3 grams.

"You know, people are doing their job and then they gotta deal with this kind of stuff," said witness Lina Lopez.

Investigators said one of their deputies had just arrested a suspect on a drug charge.

"Three other deputies said they were exhibiting symptoms," said Mike Jachles, with Orange County Fire Rescue. "So to err on the side of caution, they were transported to get checked out at the emergency department."

The suspect was also taken to the hospital, deputies said.

Villanueva was charged with fentanyl possession.

The Sheriff's Office said all four of them were told they'd be OK.

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