Kelly Croley

BUFFALO TWP — A Pittsburgh woman has been charged with providing what authorities believe was heroin to a friend who overdosed on the drug Monday at an Ekastown Road home.

Buffalo Township police arrested Kelly E. Croley, 41, on felony and misdemeanor drug charges. She was arraigned that same day and released on her own recognizance.

The alleged victim, identified in court documents as Kristy Palko, later recovered from the apparent overdose.

Emergency crews went to the home on the 700 block of Ekastown Road about 2:40 p.m., after a 911 call reported a 40-year-old woman was unresponsive on the floor.

Saxonburg EMS paramedics got there first and revived the victim before police arrived.

Officer Jeffrey Sneddon spoke to Palko, who admitted that she and Croley had snorted heroin in the bathroom, court documents said.

After ingesting the drug, investigators suspect, Palko collapsed in the living room.

The Croley acknowledged that she had brought the drug with her to the home, police said. She also told Sneddon that she “did eight bags of suspected heroin earlier in the day,” documents said.

The officer later retrieved a makeup bag from the bathroom that contained stamp bags of what police believe was heroin.

The bags — 14 of them full and two empties — were in a cigarette pack. The bags were marked “Great Job.” Also in the bag was a dollar bill that the women allegedly used to snort the drug.

Police arrested Croley after consulting with one of the county's assistant district attorneys.

District Judge William Fullerton arraigned the defendant on 14 felony counts of delivery of a controlled substance and misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct.

She remains free on her own recognizance while awaiting a preliminary hearing set Feb. 14 at the office of District Judge Sue Haggerty in Saxonburg.