It took over two years but now a Tullytown man’s new address is the state prison. He was sentenced for providing drugs, in 2021, which led to a woman’s overdose death in Falls Township, said the District Attorney’s (DA) Office.
Steven Frederick Yard Jr., 32, pleaded guilty, according to court documents, in January to charges of involuntary manslaughter, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, recklessly endangering another person, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
On Monday, April 29, 2024, Common Pleas Judge Gary B. Gilman sentenced Yard up to six years in state prison, followed by two years of probation, shown in court records.
The investigation began on November 16, 2021 when Falls Township Police responded to an overdose call at 100 Yardley Ave. The DA’s Office spokesperson said, police located Mary Coyle, 39, deceased on a bed and Steven Yard actively overdosing on the floor in the same bedroom.
The investigation revealed that Yard drove to the Kensington section of Philadelphia and purchased 12 bags of heroin for himself and Coyle. Yard and Coyle both used heroin at the Yardley Avenue residence. Yard woke up to find Coyle deceased in the bed, so he rolled her on her back and began to perform CPR. Yard did another bag of heroin and discarded several bags of heroin under a couch in the room when police arrived. During the investigation, police seized a dollar bill used to snort drugs, along with three empty blue-colored wax paper bags, commonly used to package heroin, according to the DA Office.
During the investigation, the DA Office said, six more wax paper bags containing suspected heroin/fentanyl were found under a couch. The deputy coroner located three more wax bags containing suspected heroin/fentanyl in the robe Coyle was wearing.
An autopsy later concluded that Coyle died of acute fentanyl intoxication and lab results indicated that all the contents of the wax paper bags tested positive for fentanyl. The dollar bill tested positive for the presence of cocaine, said the DA Office.
This case was investigated by Falls Township Police Department, led by Detective Stephen Reeves, and was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Chad R. Kovack.
Credit: Submitted