Cops: Shirley man overdoses while home with his kids

Emergency responders had to revive a Shirley man who overdosed on heroin with his two young children in the home, according to Suffolk police.

Thomas Koch, 30, was turning blue when his fiancee found him unconscious in a rear bedroom of a Lombardy Drive home on Sunday afternoon and called 911, police said. Seventh Precinct officers arrived and found him not breathing. They tried to resuscitate him, but it was only after emergency medical services personnel arrived that he began to come around.

A Suffolk police spokeswoman said Koch overdosed on heroin; a hypodermic needle and other paraphernalia carrying drug residue were in plain view and accessible to the children.

Koch was treated at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center for the overdose and later arrested. Koch's fiancee and two brothers were in the home at the time of his collapse, and it was unclear who was responsible for looking after the kids, ages 9 and 5. The other adults told police the children were in a different bedroom and did not see Koch overdose.

Koch, who has a string of substance abuse-related arrests, according to court documents, is awaiting sentencing on a felony drug-related charge. Koch told officers, "I was doing heroin but I don't do it every day - I'm not a junkie" and that he didn't know his children were home, according to criminal complaints filed against him Monday.

Koch was charged with child endangerment and possession of a hypodermic needle, both misdemeanors. Through a Legal Aide attorney, he pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday at First District Court in Central Islip.

The judge ordered "stay away" orders of protection for the children and ordered Koch to keep away from the house. He was held on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond. A woman who identified herself to a judge as Koch's wife attended the hearing but declined to speak to a reporter.

Police notified Child Protective Services of the incident. The children were placed in the care of their mother, officials said.

Koch has been arrested several times in the past 13 years, including three convictions for alcohol-related driving offenses, according to online court documents. Last month, he pleaded guilty to felony driving while impaired by drugs and is awaiting sentencing. A message left for his attorney was not returned.