Guilty pleas withdrawn in drug death case
A Lawrence County man, charged in relation to a fatal overdose in 2016, withdrew his guilty pleas to drug distribution charges in Butler County Court on Tuesday.
Eugene J. Smith III, 48, of Wampum, originally of Butler Township, withdrew his guilty pleas to two felony counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance — heroin, before Judge William Shaffer. He will now be scheduled for further court proceedings and trial.
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.
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.
Police said Smith had sold Arblaster stamp bags containing the highly toxic combination of heroin and fentanyl on Sept. 2, 2016.
Smith's attorney, Kenneth Harris, said his client is claiming innocence on the charges to which he originally pleaded on Nov. 9. That plea agreement called 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.
Read more about this story in Wednesday's Butler Eagle.
