REDDING – A traffic stop yesterday afternoon resulted in an arrest for possession of “black tar” heroin of a 21-year-old woman.
At 6:40 pm on Tuesday, a Redding Police officer conducted a traffic stop at the northbound Interstate 5 offramp at Lake Blvd., according to a Redding PD press release. The driver, Paulina Danielle Boehm was found to be in possession of black tar heroin.
An example of Black Tar Heroin
Black tar heroin is actually a combination of heroin and morphine, combined in a chemical process called acetylation. The reaction can take the form of a dark gooey tar like substance to a light brown powder when further refined. It can be easier to produce than pure white powder heroin, and be more potent. It can be used in powder form through inhalation through the nose, mixed with water and ingested, heated and inhaled, or even used as a suppository. It can also be injected like traditional heroin. Though by its nature it is said to carry less of an HIV transmission risk, it can lead to vein hardening disease and life threatening bacterial infections.
When the officer found the 9.2 ounces of black tar in Boehm’s sweatshirt pocket, he requested an assist from the SINTF – the Shasta Interagency Narcotics Task Force. Agents responded to the scene to continue the investigation into the incident. As a result, Ms. Boehm was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, possession for sale, and transportation of a controlled substance.
This was not Paulina Boehm’s first experience with the law. According to the Record Searchlight, in April 2011 her boyfriend at the time, Blaine Stidham was arrested for attempted murder. A man had witnessed an altercation between Stidham and Boehm, and tried to intervene. Stidham was reported to have fought with the man, and ended up beating and stabbing the man. He left the scene with Boehm and was found with her the next morning when he was arrested for that incident, along with several outstanding warrants. Boehm herself was not arrested at that time.
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