In the aftermath of a woman’s overdose death on Saturday, East Ridge police have charged two people with crimes.
Nicolaas Coffelt, 37, of N. Smith Street, was charged with tampering with evidence. Tiffany Paige Flerl, 19, of a Falling Water, Tenn. address, was charged with criminal impersonation after allegedly giving officers false information about her identity. Both are scheduled to appear in East Ridge Municipal Court on April 19.
According to an affidavit of complaint, police were called to 1406 N. Smith on a report of an unconscious woman, later identified as Olivia Sucher. Sucher was not breathing and had no pulse, the report states. Coffelt told officers that she may have been using heroin. She was rushed to Parkridge East and was pronounced dead.
Police questioned three people at the residence, Coffelt and Flerl among them. Coffelt told officers that he was awakened by two unknown males knocking on his door. After sending them away he went to check on Sucher because the light was still on in her room.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Coffelt gave police permission to search the house, the report states. On the dresser next to the bed in which Sucher was found, officers discovered possible remnants of black tar heroin, a filter, a spoon with residue and a jar of water. However, officers were unable to locate a syringe.
Coffelt told police that after he checked on Sucher and found her unconscious, he panicked and took the syringe wrapped in a bag and threw it in the trash outside. The report states that police discovered the syringe in the garbage and it was placed into evidence.
Flerl, according to an affidavit, initially identified herself to police as Paige Renee Kirby with a date of birth in May of 1974. The report states that Flerl gave officers several other false identities before providing investigators with her true identity, which was confirmed by her Tennessee identification.
This is not the first time that Coffelt has had a brush with the law. According to an affidavit of complaint, in February of 2015, he was arrested for discharging a firearm while intoxicated. The report states that police were dispatched to the 1000 block of Blanton Drive on shots being fired in the wooded area. Two men were seen by police exiting the woods on an ATV. Police followed the ATV to Coffelt’s N. Smith address. When questioned, the report states that officers discerned a strong odor of alcohol coming from Coffelt.
The report states that Coffelt turned over a .40-cal Beretta pistol to officers along with two magazines for the pistol that were in a holster strapped to his side.
