CHICORA — A Brady Township man will stand trial for allegedly providing the fentanyl-laced heroin to a 33-year-old man who died of an overdose in 2015.

District Judge Lewis Stoughton on Tuesday ordered Justin O. Newman, 28, held for court on several charges — including a top count of drug delivery resulting in death — at a preliminary hearing.

Newman is accused of providing stamp bags of heroin to Joshua Lee Stitt of Donegal Township on Sept. 16, 2015, after an alleged drug deal in Pittsburgh's Homestead section.

Stitt and Newman had traveled with the defendant's then-girlfriend, Julia L. Zaludek, 26, of Fenelton, to buy the drugs at a fast-food restaurant parking lot.

Zaludek and the alleged dealer, William C. Thomas III, 32, formerly of Homestead, were also charged in connection with Stitt's death.

Thomas, who is in state prison in connection with an unrelated drug case, is awaiting trial on charges similar to Newman's.

Zaludek on April 4 pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in her case. In exchange, court records showed, prosecutors withdrew the most serious charges, drug delivery resulting in death and criminal use of a communication facility.

She is to be sentenced next week.

It appears prosecutors are relying heavily on Zaludek's cooperation in their cases against Newman and Thomas, according to testimony at Tuesday's hearing.

The state attorney general's office is handling the prosecution since Zaludek's mother, Bonnie Zaludek, works for the Butler County District Attorney's Office.

Kelly Roberts, a special agent with the AG's office, was the lone witness to testify at the hearing. Much of her testimony was from information police gathered during an interview with Zaludek on May 15, 2016.

She recounted, Roberts said, that on the day before Stitt's death, she, Newman and the victim drove in her car to finalize the drug deal that she had arranged with Thomas.

Zaludek and Stitt also brought their young children along for the ride, the agent said.

At the restaurant parking lot, according to a police affidavit, Zaludek and Stitt handed money over to Newman for the drugs.

The purported deal was 75 bags of heroin for $400.

Newman got out of the car and went over to Thomas' vehicle. He then returned to the car.

“The three of them, according to Ms. Zaludek, split the 75 bags in thirds,” Roberts testified.

Zaludek described the white bags as being marked “HIT AND RUN” in red.

Police found nine bags matching that same description at Stitt's home on Trimbur Road, where they were called for his suspected overdose, Roberts said.

He had two similar bags, both empty, as well as a syringe in his pants pocket.

Stitt died in an ambulance on the way to Butler Memorial Hospital.

Toxicology reports from an autopsy later showed the heroin, unbeknownst to Stitt, was mixed with the synthetic painkiller fentanyl, authorities said, which is known to heighten the dangers and potency of street drugs.

The pathologist ruled, Roberts testified, that Stitt “died as a result of combined fentanyl and heroin toxicity.”

During his cross-examination, Newman's court-appointed attorney, Armand Cingolani III, in roundabout questioning tried to get Roberts to acknowledge that neither his client nor Zaludek died, presumably after ingesting the same drugs as Stitt.

That questioning was silenced by objections from prosecutors.

Cingolani, in questioning Roberts, also at times tried to raise doubt about the prosecution's case and Zaludek's credibility.

“All you have is her word, isn't it?” he asked, referring to Zaludek.

“Yes,” Roberts replied.

“And she's a drug addict,” Cingolani said, prompting Stoughton to sustain the prosecution's objection.

After a moment's pause, the defense attorney asked, “What (Zaludek) says is reliable, credible and can be believed?”

“Yes,” Roberts again replied.

Along with the top count, the equivalent of third-degree murder that carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison under state law, Newman is charged with felony and misdemeanor drug possession and involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor.

He remains in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail.

Thomas is being held in the State Correctional Institution at Greene County. Court records show he's serving a two- to four-year sentence stemming from his 2016 conviction for felony drug possession in Allegheny County.

Zaludek has been free on bail since April 25, 2016. She is to be sentenced June 29.