Three homeless people sitting on the University’s riverbank property, including one man carrying $400 to $500 worth of heroin, were arrested on drug charges Friday after public safety officers saw them scramble to hide items from the officers, according to the Department of Public Safety.
Michael Scott Royals, 34, was arrested by Eugene police officers around 5:30 p.m. on charges of possessing more than half an ounce of heroin, for packaging the drug with the intent to deliver it and for possessing methamphetamine, Department of Public Safety officer Chris Phillips said.
Royals, who was considered armed and dangerous by officers and who was fiddling with a small knife before officers asked him to step away from it, had several small balloons filled with heroin for distribution, Phillips said. He also had spoons and syringes for cooking and shooting the drug, in addition to some marijuana, Phillips said.
Phillips and DPS officer Lisa Larkin said that Friday’s heroin bust was one of the larger ones they’ve seen in a while.
“Usually it’s just personal-use stuff,” Phillips said.
Larkin said she sees meth more frequently than heroin but “heroin seems to be coming back.”
Eugene police also arrested Mark Jason Wilson, 31, and Heidi Marie Karas, 35, on charges of having heroin. Wilson buried a baggy of heroin about a quarter of an inch in the dirt to hide it from officers, Phillips said.
Karas was cited and released.
Both the men went to jail, and Royals was still being held there as of Sunday evening.