Drug death prosecutions on the rise, but most overdoses still go unpunished

Prosecutions of drug delivery resulting in death cases have increased in recent years, but still the vast majority of fatal overdoses in Northeast Pennsylvania and across the state go unpunished, according to recent data from the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

The data — released as state lawmakers contemplate a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison for the offense — show that 16 people have been charged in Luzerne County with drug delivery resulting in death since the county's first arrests were announced in 2017, with six of the cases taking place in 2022 and three more arrests occurring in 2023.

Similarly, authorities in Lackawanna County have charged 18 people with drug delivery resulting in death since 2017, while Schuylkill County officials have charged 10.

But while more alleged drug dealers are being prosecuted for selling deadly concoctions — often resulting in unwitting buyers receiving the deadly opioid fentanyl mixed with their desired drugs — the data reveal that nobody is prosecuted in the overwhelming majority of fatal overdoses.

For instance, while Luzerne County had six such arrests in 2022, there were 174 fatal overdoses in the county that same year — 134 of which were fentanyl related, according to data provided by Coroner Jill Matthews. Similarly, the three arrests in 2023 were dwarfed by 145 fatal overdoses that year.

That trend is not specific to Northeast Pennsylvania. While the AOPC reported that drug delivery resulting in death cases across the state increased by 16% from 2022 to 2023 — from 202 cases to 235 — those numbers are overshadowed by what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates were 4,646 fatal overdoses in Pennsylvania last year.

Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said there are several factors contributing to the low arrest rates in such cases. Lack of cooperation from victims' friends and associates as well as the fact that many victims have multiple drugs in their systems can make proving the crime difficult, he said.

"Very seldom is it a person who has one drug delivered by one person in their system," Sanguedolce said. "You can't really prove which person, which drug at which time killed the individual. So that's partly what makes it so difficult."

Associates of the victims are also often unwilling to cooperate — if they can even be identified.

"If there are people present when someone overdoses and dies, they often flee," Sanguedolce said. "Or sometimes they die alone, and it's hard to trace where the drugs came from."

Drug delivery resulting in death prosecutions also got off to a slow start after the law was initially enacted because of an interpretation that prosecutors would have to prove the dealer had a "conscious intent" to kill the victim — such as when someone purposefully delivers a lethal "hot shot," he said.

But then the state Superior Court ruled in November 2015 that prosecutors need not prove the victim's death was intentional or that it involved malice.

"Basically, the delivery itself is so dangerous that you should know it could cause death," Sanguedolce said. "So once that changed, it changed the dynamic as far as charging drug delivery resulting in death."

Luzerne County authorities assess each overdose case to determine if charges can be filed, he said.

"Often we'll know in the very beginning if there is no chance," Sanguedolce said. "But most overdoses we try to look at and assess as to whether we can pursue the (drug delivery resulting in death) statute."

Stiffer penalty

The data release comes as state lawmakers are considering legislation that would establish a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a minimum $15,000 fine for drug delivery resulting in death. The harsher penalties would not apply to drug users who share drugs with family or friends or those who seek medical help for people who are overdosing.

The legislation is known as Tyler's Law, after 18-year-old Tyler Shanafelter of Shippensburg who unwittingly bought Percocet pills laced with fentanyl and died of an overdose on Oct. 10, 2020.

When the state Senate passed the legislation in October, sponsor Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-33, Chambersburg, said he felt dealers whose drugs kill people should get more than a few years in prison.

"Pennsylvanians are dying because drug dealers are lacing their products with lethal doses of fentanyl," Mastriano said in a statement. "People we know and love are being poisoned to death. The victims in this poisoning crisis deserve justice. This bill makes a bold statement that here in Pennsylvania, you cannot kill our citizens and get away without facing severe consequences."

Indeed, while state law currently allows for up to 40 years in prison for drug delivery resulting in death — and sets no maximum if the victim is under 13 years old — sentencing data show that many drug dealers get far less than that.

According to the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, the average state sentence for drug delivery resulting in death was 6½ to 15 years in 2022.

The first defendant to be convicted of the offense in Luzerne County, Dallas resident David Haines, was initially sentenced in 2018 to two years in the Intermediate Punishment Program followed by seven years of probation — although he was later re-sentenced to serve three to six years in prison after violating his probation.

Local lawmakers, including Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, Lehman Twp., and Sen. Marty Flynn, D-22, Dunmore, were among the supporters who led to the bill's passage in the 35-14 Oct. 2 vote.

Baker, who met with Shanafelter's mother prior to the vote, said in floor remarks that the law as it stands is "insufficient to bring about true justice."

"Although the current trend is to avoid the tougher penalties and mandated sentences that overcrowd our prisons and overwhelm public budgets, we cannot go lightly on the awful responsibility that fentanyl distribution entails," Baker said. "This stuff is poison. No one is doing quality control checks to find where it has been added to other substances. It strikes without consideration of age, race, creed, or economic circumstance… We must have consequences that match the deadly crime committed."

Flynn likewise said he thinks the bill will address an "urgent need for accountability" when dealing with overdose deaths.

"Too many lives, like Tyler Shanafelter's, have been lost due to fentanyl-laced substances, and current penalties aren't enough," Flynn said. "This law will protect our communities by ensuring serious consequences for those responsible. It's a necessary step to combat the opioid crisis and prevent further heartbreak for families across Pennsylvania."

Although it enjoys bipartisan support, the bill is not universally endorsed.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has come out in opposition to the legislation, which is now before the state House Judiciary Committee, over concerns that mandatory minimum penalties do not deter criminals as intended and disproportionately penalize minorities.

"Instead of reducing the instances of drug-related deaths, (the legislation) would punish people struggling with substance use disorders," the group said in a statement. "While we appreciate the urgency to address opioid related deaths, we cannot incarcerate our way out of the opioid epidemic, especially if that means incarcerating people who should instead be receiving medical treatment."

Sanguedolce, meanwhile, said he thinks a mandatory minimum sentence is appropriate due to the seriousness of the offense.

"I think setting a mandatory minimum is great because of how dangerous it is. Seeing fentanyl on the streets nowadays, you should know that it's going to kill someone," Sanguedolce said. "I think having stiffer penalties hopefully will dissuade people from delivering drugs."