SMETHPORT — A second person pleaded guilty for her role in the 2015 drug overdose death of a Bradford man, while a trial is pending for the third person charged.
Rachel Reid, 29, and Larry Shroyer, 46 — two of the three people charged in George Duke Jr.’s death — appeared in McKean County Court Thursday before President Judge John Pavlock.
Reid entered a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to distribute a designer drug and possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance, both felonies; and recklessly endangering another person, a second-degree misdemeanor.
According to District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer, between Nov. 5-13, 2015, Reid conspired with Shroyer and James Luper, 44, to deliver heroin. Also, between Nov. 10-13, 2015, she conspired with Shroyer and Luper to deliver butyryl fentanyl that Luper had packaged for sale. Reid knew the drug was potent when she sold it.
Duke ingested the butyryl fentanyl, which caused his death, Shaffer said.
Reid will be sentenced at 1 p.m. Dec. 13. She is represented by attorney Christopher Martini.
For his role in Duke’s death, Luper pleaded guilty Aug. 9 to charges of conspiracy to possess a designer drug and involuntary manslaughter, for which he is serving 3 ¼ to 6 ½ years in state prison.
A jury trial is pending for Shroyer for two cases related to Duke’s death: one case is for allegations he sold butyryl fentanyl to Duke, and the other is for allegations he hid from police after learning he was going to be charged in the first case.
Shroyer, along with attorney John Thomas, appeared in court Thursday to respond to a motion by the Shaffer to consolidate both cases into one trial.
Thomas asked the trials to be held separately, stating a single trial could be prejudicial to Shroyer.
Pavlock determined it was not legally prejudicial and granted Shaffer’s motion to consolidate.
A trial date has not been set.
Testimony given at a preliminary hearing for Luper and Shroyer indicated that Luper and Reid had lived together in a home where she and two other people worked for Luper selling drugs. Shroyer, who was a daily customer of Reid, allegedly delivered the strong mixture of heroin/butyrfentanyl to Duke.
Regarding the flight to avoid apprehension charge against Shroyer, the criminal complaint stated that when police contacted him to advise him of the pending charges, he told them he would immediately turn himself in. However, he did not, and allegedly was on the lam for several days.
