A Butler Township man who was charged in relation to a fatal overdose in 2016 pleaded guilty to drug distribution charges in Butler County Court on Thursday.

Eugene J. Smith III, 48, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance — heroin, before Judge Timothy McCune.

The plea agreement calls for a sentence of 15 to 30 months in state prison on each charge, bringing the total amount of state prison time to 2½ to 5 years, followed by probation, restitution, fines, community service and court costs.

Smith is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 11.

Assistant District Attorney Ben Simon said the plea agreement is a result of Smith “cooperating in the investigation and his truthful testimony to the (federal) grand jury.”

Smith was initially charged with two felony counts of possession with intent, one count of conspiracy, and two misdemeanor counts of drug possession, before another felony charge, drug delivery resulting in death, was later added.

That charge — the equivalent of third-degree murder in Pennsylvania — carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. It will be dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

The charges stem from incidents on Sept. 3, 2016; Sept. 8, 2016; and in Adams Township on Sept. 8, 2016, following the death of 24-year-old Elizabeth Arblaster of Brady Township.

Toxicology results found that Arblaster died Sept. 3, 2016, of fentanyl and heroin toxicity. She had nine times the lethal level of fentanyl in her system when she was found dead in the bedroom of a home on Stoup Road in Adams Township, where she had been visiting. Several stamp bags of heroin, some marked “The King,” investigators said, as well as syringes and a cooking spoon were found in the bedroom.

Police said Smith had sold Arblaster stamp bags containing the highly toxic combination on Sept. 2, 2016.

A search warrant was executed on Smith's Old Plank Estates apartment in Butler Township, and revealed evidence of a drug-dealing operation — dozens of bags of heroin and crack cocaine and more than $1,600.

Seized in a back bedroom was a plastic bag containing 20 glassine bags of heroin marked “The King” and two baggies containing a “rather large” amount of suspected crack. Police believe Michael D. Burrows, 30, of Wilmerding, Allegheny County, who was also charged in relation to the incident, had been using that bedroom while staying at Smith's apartment.

They also found $1,607 in a pair of pants belonging to Burrows and a set of keys to a Mercedes-Benz that he drove.

In the living room, police turned up several full and empty bags of heroin marked “KO,” and loaded syringes.

Burrows is currently facing a federal indictment in relation to interstate drug trafficking. A trial is scheduled for Feb. 12.

Police said Burrows has a prior federal court conviction for distribution of cocaine in West Virginia.