Montgomery County Man Held Without Bail After Allegedly Selling Deadly Dose Of Fentanyl
SKIPPACK, Pa. (CBS) -- A Montgomery County man is being held without bail on charges he allegedly sold a deadly dose of fentanyl to a 20-year-old from Perkiomen Township.
Patrick Yahner, 19, of Skippack, is charged with "drug delivery resulting in death" in connection with the April overdose death of Justin Service, 20, of Perkiomen Township.
Police say their investigation shows Service met with Yahner to buy drugs shortly before he overdosed.
An autopsy by the Montgomery County Coroner's Office determined that Service's death was caused by "fentanyl toxicity."
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele had a strong warning for anyone dealing drugs.
"Justin Service died by someone poisoning him with the very deadly drug fentanyl, and that someone was a drug dealer. Anyone dealing drugs in Montgomery County needs to hear this message: if you deal drugs like fentanyl, heroin or pills and we can prove that the drugs you sold caused someone's death, you will be charged with homicide. We will be coming for you and charging you with Drug Delivery Resulting in Death," said Steele. "This is our seventh arrest for this charge in 2017. We are committed to stopping the flow of the deadly drug into our communities in Montgomery County."
Drug delivery resulting in death carries the same penalty as third degree murder with a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.
Yahner was also arraigned on Monday in a Montgomery County court where he was denied bail and remanded to a Montco correctional facility.
A preliminary hearing for Yahner has been set for Oct. 31.
