Refusing medical treatment sent local woman to jail
Drug-related charges filed against a woman who allegedly suffered an overdose at a dental office — and was later found with suspected drugs while being booked into the Butler County Prison — are headed to trial.
Kassandra L. Walker, 32, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance by an inmate, two misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and summary public drunkenness after the incident a Butler Dental Associates on South Main Street on Oct. 19.
President Judge Thomas Doerr denied Walker's request to dismiss the felony and misdemeanor charges in a memorandum opinion and order issued April 20 following the April 5 hearing.
Walker, through her attorney Matthew Kalina, attempted to argue that she was immune from prosecution through the good Samaritan law. Doerr ruled that the law does not apply in the case because she refused medical treatment.
“If medical treatment for Defendant had continued with admission to the hospital, she would not have been taken into custody. Independent of the actions of revival, upon learning her identity, the officer discovered the bench warrant on a prior offense,” Doerr wrote in his opinion.
Read more about this case in the Butler Eagle.
