MIAMI, June 27 (Reuters) – A Miami man killed by police
after he chewed off a big chunk of the face of a homeless man
had marijuana in his system but no other drugs, authorities said
on Wednesday.
Police had speculated that Rudy Eugene, who was found naked
gnawing on his victim’s face on the off-ramp of a downtown Miami
bridge, may have been under the influence of a synthetic drug
known as bath salts at the time of the attack.
The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department said in a
statement that results from toxicology tests identified only
components of marijuana.
“The laboratory has tested for but not detected any other
street drugs, alcohol or prescription drugs, or any adulterants
found in street drugs,” it said.
Police shot and killed Eugene, 31, after he repeatedly
failed to respond to orders to stop attacking the 65-year-old
man, Ronald Poppo.
Poppo remains in a Miami hospital after the gruesome attack
on Memorial Day weekend. He is temporarily blind and doctors
treating him say he suffered devastating injuries to nearly half
of his face.
Bath salts have been blamed in several incidents of erratic
and violent behavior around the country.
(Reporting by Kevin Gray; Editing by Eric Walsh)
