An Ephrata man is charged with selling heroin to a Denver woman who died in September of an overdose.
David E. Crockett Jr. sold 40-year-old Tammy Givler a quantity of heroin which Givler used on the morning of Sept. 27. Police found Givler deceased that afternoon in a vehicle in the 1000 block of North Reading Road (Route 272).
East Cocalico police Detective Keith Neff charged Crockett on Thursday with a felony count of drug delivery resulting in death. Assistant District Attorney Todd Kriner approved the charges.
District Judge Nancy Hamill arraigned Crockett and set bail at $100,000, which was not posted.
“This is another tragic example of the human toll we are paying for the heroin epidemic and a tangible example of the challenges we are dealing with as a society,” Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said Friday.
Crockett, 38, admitted to police to selling Givler heroin prior to the overdose.
Additionally, Crockett said he was with Givler when she used it. Givler started mumbling and had trouble walking before going “limp,” Crockett told police.
Crockett then drove Givler, in her car, to a parking lot in the 1000 block of North Reading Road. Crockett left Givler in the back seat.
Crockett told police, “I wasn’t 100 percent sure [she was dead], but there’s a good chance.”
“This is obviously a callous and criminal act, but it is, unfortunately, far from surprising,” Stedman said.
Surveillance video showed Crockett walking away from Givler’s vehicle that morning, at the time of the overdose. He lives near the parking lot.
Lancaster County Drug Task Force detectives assisted in the investigation, along with the Lancaster County Coroner’s office which determined Givler died from multiple drug toxicity. A toxicology test revealed multiple drugs in Givler’s system, including heroin and fentanyl.
Fentanyl, a pain-reliever, is 40 to 50 times stronger than heroin being sold on the street, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“If we are to stop this epidemic, we have to engage all aspects of our society to raise awareness of this scourge,” Stedman said. “We need to increase education, prevention, and treatment.”
Crockett is presumed innocent.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright