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Jeffrey Lebron, 50, of Cheltenham, was arrested on charges of drug delivery resulting in death, and related offenses for his alleged role as the supplier of the drugs that killed 27-year-old Nathan Lauch in Cheltenham, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said.
Lebron is the second person arrested in connection with Lauch's death, following Saeed McCrae, 23, of Elkins Park, who was arrested in July 2021, authorities said.
Saeed McCrae, 23, of Elkins Park, had exchanged more than 1,400 text messages with Nathan Lauch -- most recently the night before his Feb. 23, 2021 death, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said.
Officers around 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 23, 2021, found Lauch dead in a bedroom of his Cottman Avenue home, Steele said alongside Cheltenham Township Police Acting Chief John Slavin.
Near his body, police found a black cellphone and the victim’s wallet that contained two round yellow pills inscribed with a “T” over “189,” wrapped in a piece of a torn receipt.
An investigation found that Lauch and McCrae met up at a local Sunoco station the night of Feb. 22, where Lauch purchased five, yellow round pills inscribed with a "T" over "189," and wrapped in a torn receipt, authorities said.
While oxycodone pills are round yellow pills inscribed with a “T” over “189,” laboratory testing on the yellow pills found in Lauch's wallet determined that contained fentanyl and chlorofentanyl, authorities said.
Ten more pills of the same type were found inside McCrae’s apartment, along with cash, court paperwork in his name, and mail addressed to him, police said.
A search of McCrae’s phone found Lauch’s cellphone number with more than 1,400 text messages between the two. He was arrested on July 20, 2021.
In Sept. 2021, Cheltenham police learned that McCrae’s fentanyl pill supplier was Lebron. A search of McCrae’s cellphone for Lebron’s phone number yielded hundreds of text messages discussing the purchasing of illegal drugs and arranging to meet for those purchases, the DA's office said.
A search of Lebron’s cellphone confirmed the hundreds of texts and calls with McCrae. An examination of both cellphones and the call detail records revealed that McCrae and Lebron met at least 11 times between February 2020 and February 2021 for the purpose of conducting a drug transaction, authorities said.
A search warrant executed at Lebron’s residence found 21 round yellow pills inscribed with a “T” over “189,” the same as those found in Lauch's wallet at the time of his death and the same as those purchased by detectives from McCrae, the DA's office said.
“This defendant, Jeffrey Lebron, was selling counterfeit oxycodone pills to Saeed McCrae who then sold them to the end-users. These counterfeit pills actually contained the even deadlier fentanyl, and caused Lauch’s death,” Steele said.
“These tragic overdose deaths are happening to far too many families, ripping them apart. Montgomery County law enforcement will continue to hold drug dealers accountable for selling the deadly drugs that kill people.”
Lebron was sent to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $500,000 cash bail.
A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 17 before Magisterial District Judge Elizabeth McHugh Casey.
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