KRDO Investigates: Meth & heroin use in Pueblo more than doubles

There’s an alarming trend and a staggeringly high use of meth and heroin in Pueblo. In five years, heroin use has tripled and meth use has more than doubled.

“I’m so sick of finding syringes in our front yard,” said Patrick Butkovich.

Patrick has lived along Routt Avenue on the city’s south side with his father Anthony for the past 25 years.

“I can’t stress enough, how desperately I want change around here,” Patrick said.

At first glance, their neighborhood appears quiet, quaint, and undisturbed.

“It looks charming, but you have to look deeper, it’s getting really bad,” said Anthony.

The Butkovich’s said all the action happens after 9 p.m.

“We wake up to syringes in our garden… needles.. foils…all around our neighborhood,” Patrick said.

Video sent into our newsroom shows more than a dozen people lying on the ground next to their house during a drug bust earlier this year.

“It’s scary,” Anthony said.

Neighbor Amanda Grace described it as a ‘crack house’ with more than 15 people living inside.

“There’s a lot of arrests, but the problem is not going away,” she said.

It may actually be getting worse citywide.

In 2013, there were 148 possession cases for meth. Now, that number has more than doubled.

It’s even worse for heroin, with 74 possession cases in 2013. Now, that number is already at 274.

The dramatic increase, Sgt. Frank Ortega explains, is “so big” they’re changing their approach.

“We want to offer treatment in lieu of criminal charges, jail, or prison,” he said.

The treatment program is set to start next month. For more information, click here.