By Shereen Siewert
A 45-year-old man who was on the run from probation is accused of selling a near-fatal dose of heroin to a Wausau man – the third such accusation in less than five years.
In July 2017, Christopher Harter was accused of smuggling heroin into a local hospital and giving the drug to a patient who overdosed in the bathroom. The man, a friend of Harter’s, survived.
Then in February 2018, Harter was arrested again, this time after a 35-year-old man was found passed out in the bathroom at a convenience store on Wausau’s northeast side. Police and rescue workers responded after an employee found the man lying on the floor. Paramedics administered Narcan to the man and revived him on the way to a local hospital, according to the police report. Police traced the drugs to Harter, who was then charged in connection with the case.
In June 2018 Harter was sentenced to five years in prison after his conviction on charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, manufacturing or delivering heroin and possession of heroin with intent to deliver, charges stemming from the 2017 and 2018 overdoses. Department of Corrections records show he was released on extended supervision in August 2020, but allegedly admitted to police in a January interview that he had been on the run from probation for a year and a half.
The latest charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, manufacturing or delivering heroin and possession of heroin with intent to deliver were filed Jan. 19 in Marathon County Circuit Court, two days after a 41-year-old Wausau man overdosed and nearly died at a home in the 300 block of South Fourth Avenue. Police say the victim bought heroin from Harter, a source he allegedly used frequently.
During an initial appearance Wednesday, Circuit Judge Suzanne O’Neill ordered Harter held on a $5,000 cash bond. Harter could also see his probation revoked, which would lead to an additional five years in prison on the earlier charges. Jail records show Harter is also subject to a probation hold.
A Jan. 26 preliminary hearing has been set in the case.
