Following a two-day trial in McKean County Court, a Rochester, N.Y., man has been convicted of delivering the fentanyl that caused the fatal overdose of Mercedes Simonds in Bradford in 2021.
Brady Pysadee, 28, was found guilty by a jury of charges including drug delivery resulting in death and involuntary manslaughter. He will be sentenced at 1 p.m. Oct. 17.
According to the criminal complaint, Pysadee had sold cocaine to Mercedes Simonds, who overdosed and died June 17, 2021, from a mix of cocaine and fentanyl.
At 6:01 a.m. on that date, Bradford City Police and Fire and Ambulance responded to 420 E. Main St., rear apartment, for an overdose victim — Simonds — in cardiac arrest. When police arrived on scene, a male was performing CPR on Simonds on the living room floor. City of Bradford ambulance arrived on scene and medics took over CPR before transporting Simonds to Bradford Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, according to the criminal complaint.
District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer said, “Officers soon learned from witnesses that she had been contacted by Pysadee and they had made arrangements to meet in the evening of June 16, 2021. The defendant arranged to meet Simonds in his vehicle on a street in East Bradford. A third party was in a nearby vehicle and would describe Simonds’ changed demeanor after exiting the Pysadee vehicle. Shortly thereafter, Simonds would state that she ‘did a line of something brown’ with the defendant and she thinks it may have been heroin. The third party also received some of the same drugs that Pysadee gave to Simonds and reported he, too, became violently ill.”
Simonds returned to the bar/restaurant where she had been earlier in the evening and became increasingly ill. She tried to reach out to Pysadee but couldn’t reach him, Shaffer said.
“Witnesses tried to get her medical assistance but she said she just needed to go to sleep. One of the witnesses took her to an apartment nearby and checked on her periodically. He did not notice any outward signs of a fatal overdose but noticed her breathing changed to snoring and then into gurgling. Ultimately, she went into cardiac arrest.”
The male who was with her called 9-1-1 and started CPR.
According to the criminal complaint in the case, when medics were working on Simonds, one approached an officer and gave him a baggie containing white powder residue, stating it was “located in the victim’s bra.”
The baggie found on Simonds was tested and identified as 0.16 grams of cocaine. Police obtained the autopsy report and it showed cocaine and fentanyl in Simonds’ blood, the complaint alleged.
Shaffer said Simonds’ family will mourn her forever.
“(The verdict) brings us closer to the conclusion of the criminal case, but we are mindful that the family will continue to suffer and our sympathies will remain with them,” she said.
She expressed her appreciation to Officer Kolin Strawcutter for his “tireless investigation in this case” that led to Pysadee’s arrest and conviction. She mentioned Sgt. Seth Shephard, Officer Tyler Blair, Officer Matthew Gustin, Chief Michael Ward, and from the Bradford City Fire and Ambulance Department, Christopher Spaich and Zach Harten as assisting in the investigation.
“Bartenders at the Keystone and JJ’s provided critical testimony as did the tenant of the apartment in which Mercedes passed and others – all describing the last few hours of her life,” Shaffer said. “Many of these witnesses, previously virtual strangers to the family, stood with them in support throughout the trial.”
Pysadee, who was represented at trial by Ridgway attorney John Thomas, was convicted on all counts: drug delivery resulting in death, involuntary manslaughter, delivering a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and recklessly endangering another person.
Pysadee was remanded to McKean County Jail following the verdict.
