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BOARDMAN -- A man and woman are in custody after her overdose at a local motel led to both of them being arrested on warrants.
According to police reports, Dennis Drye, 31, of Columbiana, was arrested at the Boardman Inn motel on Tuesday night on a warrant from Boardman Police Department for allegedly forging checks from his employer totaling more than $15,000.
Sarah Drye, 36, of Leetonia, was arrested on a warrant out of Mill Creek Metroparks Police Department for auto theft.
Both were video arraigned in Mahoning County Boardman Court on Thursday at about 4 p.m. Dennis made his initial appearance on a charge of forgery, a fifth-degree felony, while Sarah was arraigned on a misdemeanor count of unauthorized use of a vehicle, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Administrative Judge Joseph Houser imposed a $2,500 cash or surety bond on Wednesday in both cases. The court could not provide additional information before the close of business Thursday.
Police found the two at the motel just after 10 p.m. Tuesday following a medical call for an overdose. Upon arriving, police learned that one of the Boardman Township Fire Department paramedics who had responded to the call was being treated himself after he fell down and began hyperventilating outside the motel room, likely from exposure to the air conditions in the room.
According to the Boardman police report, an overpowering chemical smell, like acetone, was emanating from the room, and inhabitants on the second floor had to be temporarily evacuated while a hazmat team conducted testing.
Dennis Drye told police that he and Sarah had been there with her boyfriend, who was not found at the scene. Dennis said he had returned from a local restaurant to find Sarah had overdosed in the bathtub, likely from snorting heroin, and he said there may have been fentanyl in the room.
He told police he assumed Sarah's boyfriend had called for help, so he went to Walgreen's to buy Narcan.
While questioning him, police discovered his warrant for forgery and arrested him.
The warrant stems from a September 7 complaint filed by a Boardman business. The business reported that at least seven of its checks from its 717 Credit Union account had been duplicated and cashed. The forged checks totaled $15,446, and ranged in value from $1083 to $3230.
The police report does not state exactly how police came to issue a warrant for Dennis Drye, but does say that one of the checks had a Pennsylvania driver's license number that came back to a person whose name is redacted in the report.
Sarah Drye and the firefighter were taken to Mercy Health Boardman Hospital for treatment and observation. Police ran Sarah's name through their system and discovered the warrant for auto theft as well as warrants from Columbiana County Sheriff's Office for aggravated drug possession and tampering with evidence.
On August 17, 2022, while they were at Mill Creek Park, Sarah's ex-boyfriend reported that she had stolen his sister's car, which he was driving with his sister's permission but before his license was legally reinstated. The sister pressed charges even though the vehicle was returned a few hours later.
Boardman police did not respond to a request for comment Thursday, so it is unknown if there will be additional charges for either Dennis or Sarah related to the events at the motel.