Redstone Township man pleads guilty to selling heroin that caused fatal overdose
A Redstone Township man who sold fentanyl-laced heroin that killed one man and sickened another more than three years ago pleaded guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to prison.
John Allen Stafford Jr. pleaded guilty in Fayette County Court of Common Plea to charges of drug delivery resulting in death and possession with intent to deliver, and was immediately sentenced by Judge Joseph George Jr. to serve five to 10 years in a state prison.
Stafford, 33, sold heroin to two men on Sept. 7, 2020 when they visited his Redstone Township residence after they contacted him on a social media messenger app, according to court documents. The two men, David Charles David and Donivan Joseph Seiler III, then went to David’s home in Ronco, where they snorted the heroin, state police said.
David, 44, died from a fentanyl overdose, while Seiler was taken to Uniontown Hospital for treatment after he was found unresponsive, police wrote in court documents.
After Seiler recovered from the overdose, he told state police that he had purchased the heroin from Stafford, who admitted to investigators to selling multiple bundles of drugs to him on at least four occasions. State police charged Stafford in September 2022, and he has been held without bond at the Fayette County jail since January 2023 when he was arraigned.
Stafford’s court-appointed attorney, Vincent Tiberi, said Thursday that his client used the heroin himself, so he was apparently unaware that the drugs contained a lethal dose of fentanyl.
“John got sober after that incident,” Tiberi said. “He’s been sober three-and-a-half years. He was very remorseful of what happened.”
Tiberi said Stafford didn’t intend to sell a lethal dose of fentanyl-laced heroin, but he is taking responsibility for what happened.
“He spoke well and he was remorseful,” Tiberi said of Stafford’s demeanor during his plea and sentencing hearing Wednesday. “He’s trying to put this behind him.”
Seiler, 39, of Uniontown, was also charged with drug delivery resulting in death and possession with intent to deliver since he went into Stafford’s home to purchase the deadly batch of heroin. According to court documents, he pleaded guilty Wednesday to the possession charge and was sentenced by George to serve 21 months on house arrest and 42 months on probation.