Four months after his daughter died of a heroin overdose, John Cramsey loaded his monster truck with guns and drove to New York to save a teenage girl whose friend had just overdosed on drugs.
The teenage girl had been using heroin and was seeking the counseling of Kim Arendt, a friend of Cramsey's who works with troubled youth. Arendt received notice from the teenage girl about the overdose incident and sent a group text notifying Cramsey.
Cramsey, whose 20-year old daughter Alexandria "Lexii" Aurelia Cramsey died from heroin use, immediately packed his Dodge Ram pickup truck–covered in anti-drug and pro-gun banners–with an arsenal of weapons including five pistols, a loaded AR-15 rifle, and a loaded 12-gauge shotgun.
Cramsey, who lives in Zionsville, Pennsylvania, headed to New York to rescue the girl and posted about the incident on his Facebook page, Enough Is Enough, an anti-heroin group he created after his daughter's death.
"I'm currently 11 miles outside of Brooklyn, New York and going to a hotel to extract a 16-year-old girl who went up there to party with a few friends," Cramsey wrote. "One of those friends she went up there with will not be returning. This young lady from Wilkes Barre is scared and wants to come home."
"I'm bringing her out of NY today and anybody else in that hotel that wants to go home too," he said. "NO…SLEEP…TILL BROOKLYN!"
A woman who lost her son to a heroin overdose had heard Cramsey speak at a heroin awareness meeting and said his emotional words led her to feel the pain he had experienced.
"I thought he was charismatic and a great speaker," the woman said. "He sounded like someone who could bring people together."
While on his way to save the teenage girl, Cramsey was pulled over by police for having a cracked windshield. Officers found the firearms and arrested Cramsey, along with Arendt and another man, and he now faces charges for having weapons, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. In New Jersey, it is against the law to transport a loaded gun in a car.
Cramsey was indicted on 63 charges by a Hudson County grand jury and will be arraigned before a New Jersey Superior Court Judge.
It is unclear where the girl Cramsey went to help is, but she reportedly is safe. Cramsey continues to fight against heroin addiction. We can only hope this Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year is met with leniency in the courts.
