County man charged in death
Authorities in Beaver County have confirmed an Adams Township man allegedly delivered a fatal dose of fentanyl to an out-of-state man who was in Beaver County in February for his father's funeral.
David Shebish, 39, was arraigned Thursday in Beaver County for felony counts of drug delivery resulting in death, possession of a controlled substance, possession of intent to deliver and a misdemeanor charge of involuntary manslaughter.
This isn't Shebish's first case related to the February death. He was originally charged with felony drug delivery during a police sting operation in Cranberry Township.
Charging documents revealed that on Feb. 14, he allegedly delivered fentanyl to the victim. Authorities had yet to test the drugs in a lab at the time of Shebish's initial arrest, according to Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier, leaving them unable to charge him directly with the overdose death.
Instead, authorities set up a sting the next day using the dead man's phone to arrange for a drug deal and arrested him on the afternoon of Feb. 15 without incident.
“During the course of the investigation,” according to documents related to the Butler County charges, “it was discovered through cellular communication that David Nelson Shebish had given (the victim) the stamp bags while at the viewing of (the victim's) recently deceased father on (Friday).”
The viewing was at a funeral home in Chippewa.
Authorities said Chippewa Township police, state narcotics agents and task force officers and state police joined in the investigation.
Officers used the victim's cell phone to call the defendant, who offered to sell seven stamp bags of heroin to the task force officer posing as the victim. Officers arrested Shebish as he drove into the parking lot at the Cranberry Mall on Route 19, the site of the arranged deal.
He was allegedly found with seven glassine bags stamp in red with the number “1” and the image of a heart. Charging documents report the bags were similar to those discovered near the dead man's body.
For the drug sting, Shebish was charged in Butler County with felony charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility and a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance.
He is free on $150,000 bail. In his Beaver County case, Shebish is under a $150,000 unsecured bond. Lozier said that the bond is unsecured since he already posted cash for the Butler County bail.
Since his arrest, lab results have come back, including the results of the drugs Shebish sold to authorities, drugs found at the site of the overdosed man and the blood tests of that same man. In all of the tests, fentanyl was found, Lozier said.
At the time of Shebish's arrest in February, Chippewa Township Police Chief Eric Hermick and a state police criminal investigator interviewed Shebish at the Cranberry Township Police Department.
During the interview, documents said, the defendant stated he “gave heroin to (the victim) the previous day (Friday) and that he (Shebish) knew the stamp bags to contain fentanyl.”
Lozier will now be requesting Butler County District Attorney's office transfer the original case to Beaver so that the two cases can proceed as one.
“We do this on a regular basis — transfer between counties,” Lozier said. “That way, the defense is facing one jury trial, not two. And the defendant is not faced with the cost of two defenses. And the rules favor efficiency.”
At the time of Shebish's arrest in February, Chippewa Township Police Chief Eric Hermick and a state police criminal investigator interviewed Shebish at the Cranberry Township Police Department.
During the interview, documents said, the defendant stated he “gave heroin to (the victim) the previous day (Friday) and that he (Shebish) knew the stamp bags to contain fentanyl.”
