A 43-year-old man who provided the fentanyl-laced pills that led to a man’s overdose death in Bristol Township in 2022 was sentenced to serve up to 14 years in a state correctional institution.
Joeshae Bussey, of Morrisville, pleaded guilty earlier this year to drug delivery resulting in death, possession of a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility and involuntary manslaughter.
On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, Bussey appeared before Common Pleas Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. who sentenced him to seven to 14 years in state prison.
The 37-year-old victim, Ryan Dillon, was discovered deceased on Dec. 23, 2022, in a second-floor bedroom at his residence on Kindle Lane in Bristol Township. Next to his body, police found a small zip-lock bag containing four round blue tablets, which appeared to be 30 mg oxycodone tablets.
Police also found a pill bottle containing alprazolam, prescribed to Dillon. The pills were sent to the crime lab for analysis. Police recovered two cellphones from Dillon’s room. One of the cellphones had not been used for more than a year, but investigators were able to analyze the second one for information.
The investigation found that Dillon had a text message conversation on Dec. 22 with a person, later determined to be Bussey, regarding the purchase of pills. The two men had previously lived at the same recovery house.
In the conversation, Bussey agreed to sell Dillon 30 mg oxycodone pills and agreed to meet near a sports bar in the 1500 block of Haines Road.
The investigation led to the recovery of surveillance footage that showed the two men meeting near the sports bar from 4:37 p.m. to 4:42 p.m. on Dec. 22. The timeframe was consistent with the text message conversation they had.
Another resident at the Kindle Lane address told investigators he last saw Dillon leave the home between 4 and 5 p.m. on Dec. 22, return 20 minutes later and go straight to his bedroom. He said Dillon was not heard from again.
A lab report found that the oxycodone pills contained fentanyl, methamphetamine, and xylazine. One tablet also contained lidocaine.
The Bucks County Coroner’s report confirmed that Dillon’s cause of death was attributed to fentanyl and alprazolam intoxication.
This investigation was conducted by the Bristol Township Police Department and this case was prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Edward M. Louka.
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