A Bellefonte man who previously was twice convicted of selling drugs has been charged in connection with a heroin overdose death in April.
State police responded at 11:40 a.m. on April 9 to a Benner Township residence for a report of two individuals who had overdosed. Upon arrival, police found that a 45-year-old male, who was not named in a criminal complaint, was deceased. An autopsy later determined he died of an overdose of heroin and para-fluorobutyryl.
Another man, who also was not named, survived and was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center.
The surviving male told police that the night before he and the other man had ingested heroin from a white bag stamped ‘Dark Side.’ He said they purchased the heroin from Douglas Sunday, 30, for $500 and told police where they could find the remaining bags, according to the complaint.
Police interviewed Sunday, who allegedly said that on April 8 he met the now-deceased male in the parking lot of an Ebensburg Sheetz and accepted $500 to purchase three bundles of heroin. He then traveled to the Pittsburgh area where he purchased the heroin and upon his return he, the two men and another person ‘shot up,’ police said.
A review of surveillance video from the Sheetz store showed Sunday and the victim meeting in the parking lot and making a hand-to-hand exchange, according to the complaint.
Police executed a search warrant on Sunday’s residence and allegedly found two metal spoons containing residue and cotton, two syringes, marijuana, digital scales and a grinder.
A search of text messages involving Sunday, the two men and an unknown person believed to be Sunday’s contact for heroin in the Pittsburgh area showed discussions about purchasing the heroin, police said.
Sunday was charged on Wednesday with felony counts of drug delivery resulting in death, possession with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication facility, as well as misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
He was arraigned before District Judge Kelley Gillette-Walker, who denied bail because of Sunday’s previous drug charges. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 20.
