LAWRENCE COUNTY Mangino: Law backs charge in drug death

Whether the drug is given or sold, the law applies if someone dies of an overdose, the prosecutor says.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- People who illegally furnish a drug that kills someone could be charged with murder, even if they had no intention of killing or harming that person, according to Matthew T. Mangino, Lawrence County district attorney.
The charge of drug delivery resulting in death, classified as a third-degree murder, can apply whether the person delivering the drug gives or sells the drug to the person who dies, he said. Upon conviction, the mandatory minimum sentence is five years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
Mangino made his remarks after Meagan C. Bohrer, 18, of Main Street, Volant, was charged Wednesday in the June 5 methadone overdose death of Joshua E. Rudzik, 21, of Landau Drive, Pulaski.
Charges against her
Bohrer was charged with drug delivery resulting in death, involuntary manslaughter, possession with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substance. Mangino approved the filing of the charges.
"It has a place, unfortunately, in our society, where we have people who are providing drugs or selling drugs and death results from that," Mangino said of the charge that has been available to prosecutors under state law since 1998.
Mangino said he believes Bohrer is the first person to be charged in Lawrence County with drug delivery resulting in death. After hearing an appeal from a man who was convicted of that charge in Northumberland County, Pa., the Superior Court of Pennsylvania ruled April 23 that the law is constitutional. "That's why we're pursuing this charge -- because we're confident that it's solid," Mangino said.
Witnesses told state police they saw Bohrer with a bag of white pills she described as methadone at a small party at Rudzik's residence, according to a police affidavit of probable cause to file the charges.
Bohrer gave Rudzik five or six 10-milligram methadone pills, which he ingested, police said, adding that Rudzik also consumed beer during the party. Rudzik went to sleep around 3:30 a.m., was found unconscious about 8 a.m., and was pronounced dead at Jameson Hospital at 9:12 a.m.
Cause of death
Dr. Karl Williams, the forensic pathologist at Ellwood City Hospital, who performed the autopsy, said Rudzik died of the combination of methadone and alcohol, with methadone being the leading cause of death.
Bohrer was arraigned Thursday before District Justice James Reed and placed in Lawrence County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bond.
Mangino said the prosecution knows of no evidence that Bohrer intended to kill Rudzik, but the prosecution does not have to prove intent to kill to support the charge. He also said the prosecution knows of no evidence of any fight or dispute between Bohrer and Rudzik.
The drug-delivery-resulting-in-death charge could result from diversion of a drug prescribed for one person to someone else, Mangino said. The only person who can legally take a controlled drug is the person for whom a doctor prescribed it.
The charge applies to cases in which the victim self-administers the drug, he said. The victim need not be forced or tricked into taking the drug for the charge to apply.
"You can face serious legal consequences from your involvement in drugs. But the consequences for a victim who dies -- there's no turning back. I mean you don't get a second chance," Mangino said.