3 charged with concealing death after Nov. OD

♦ State law offers protections for those who contact authorities to report an overdose.

Three people are charged with concealing death of another after they were arrested on warrants involving an overdose death in November.

According to Floyd County Jail and Police reports:

On Nov. 3, 2020, John Hulsey went out with his ex-girlfriend Audra Latrelle Ingle and Matthew David Bryan in Acworth, according to Floyd County Police Sgt. Chris Fincher. As the night went on, they eventually decided to shoot up heroin and Hulsey overdosed on the potent opioid.

Instead of calling 911, they decided to drive around, debating what to do.

“They almost went to a hospital in Cartersville but then changed their mind,” Fincher said.

Going to that hospital could have potentially saved Hulsey’s life, and likely would not result in any arrests because of a 2014 state law.

The Georgia 911 Medical Amnesty Law established limited protections from prosecution for those reporting or suffering from an overdose.

There are limitations to those protections, primarily placed so a person who otherwise could face criminal charges will not if they’re helping another person.

Essentially, the law protects those who call 911 to report an overdose, as well as those suffering from the overdose, from arrest for having possession of small amounts of illegal drugs as well as alcohol.

The law also gives certain protections from those who are on probation or parole who are attempting to seek medical assistance for a person or are themselves suffering from an overdose.

“The point of the whole story is people should contact medical authorities and take people to the hospital because saving a life is the most important thing here,” Fincher said.

Instead, Bryan and Ingle went back to his residence on Black’s Bluff Road, where Hulsey’s body remained in the car.

Bryan’s father, David Lamar Bryan, also found the body, but still didn’t contact authorities.

The two fell asleep watching TV and when they woke up, they eventually called 911.

All three are charged with felony concealing death of another.

The father and son were arrested at the Black’s Bluff Road residence Thursday night and released on bond Friday. Ingle, who resides in Cedartown, was arrested at the Polk County line and held without bond due to a probation violation.