21°
Jonathan Heffren, 27, of Reading; Michael Lavelle, 23, of Plymouth Meeting; and Marrissa Roman, 29, of Douglassville, have been charged with drug delivery resulting in death, possession with intent to deliver and related charges stemming from the May death of 41-year-old Jessica Martin, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said in a joint release.
Officers responded to a report of a cardiac arrest at a home on Providence Forge Road in Upper Providence Township, where they found Martin just before 8:30 p.m. on May 16.
She was resuscitated at the scene by officers but died three days later at Phoenixville Hospital.
An autopsy by the Chester County Coroner’s Office determined that Martin died of complications of fentanyl and xylazine intoxication.
At the overdose scene, police found nine blue wax baggies stamped “ADIDAS” and containing a purple substance suspected of being heroin and/or fentanyl as well as a needle and other evidence of drug use, they said.
An ensuing investigation first led detectives to Heffren, after they looked through the victim's phone and found text messages between the pair from the morning of the overdose.
Martin allegedly arranged to buy $80 worth of baggies stamped “ADIDAS” from Heffren and said she would pick up the drugs in Room 228 at America’s Best Hotel on High Street in Pottstown.
Surveillance footage from the hotel showed Martin arriving and leaving the room at the time she claimed she would in the text messages, authorities said.
Investigators later learned that Heffren got the purple-dyed drugs stamped “ADIDAS” from his suppliers Lavelle and Roman, both of whom were registered guests of room 228.
On May 20, authorities served a search warrant on the room, where they seized 424 bags of the drugs stamped “ADIDAS."
The trio were inside the room at the time and were arrested on charges of possession with intent to deliver.
Further testing on the drugs found in the “ADIDAS” baggies determined they contained fentanyl, fentanyl derivatives, and xylazine, a non-opioid tranquilizer used by veterinarians to sedate horses, cattle, and other large animals, prosecutors said.
“These defendants sold a very potent and deadly mix of fentanyl and xylazine to Ms. Martin, causing her death. Drug users should know that xylazine is even more potent than fentanyl,” said DA Steele.
“With this arrest, a significant supply of illegal drugs in Montgomery County has been stopped. Law enforcement is continuing to hold drug dealers accountable for selling the deadly drugs that kill our residents.”
The new charges of drug delivery resulting in death, PWID, criminal use of a communications facility, and related offenses were filed against the suspects, and they were arraigned before a judge on Sept. 9.
A judge set bail at $250,000 cash for each person.
As part of the Montgomery County PreTrial Services Program, a bail review hearing was held before a judge who reduced bail for Roman and Lavelle to a total of $99,000 cash each. Heffren’s bail was unchanged.
The trio remains held in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. Their preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 23.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bethlehem and receive free news updates.
