Butler man suspected in fatal drug overdose
A suspected street dealer is accused of helping supply the fentanyl-laced heroin to a 30-year-old Butler woman who died of an overdose earlier this year.
Austin G. Harmon, 23, of Butler was arrested Thursday on several charges including a top count of drug delivery resulting in death — the equivalent of third-degree murder under state law.
A convicted drug felon, Harmon is being held in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail in the Jan. 28 death of Chanté Elise Nee.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office and Butler police conducted the joint investigation that led to the charges.
City police and Butler Ambulance Service found Nee dead of an apparent drug overdose after being called to her apartment on the 200 block of West Brady Street.
At the scene, investigators said, police found stamp bags — some blue and some white — that they suspected contained heroin.
The blue bags were marked “Good Work.” One of those bags was empty, one had a little residue in it and five other bags were still full. The white bags, which were marked with a different name, were all empty.
Police seized the bags as well as a syringe and Nee's cell phone.
This is not the whole story. Get the rest in Friday's print edition of the Butler Eagle.
