The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office has announced the arrest of 27-year-old Kelsey McCabe, of Souderton, in connection with the overdose death of Justin Martella in Lansdale last summer.
According to the release, Lansdale Borough Police were dispatched to an apartment on West Sixth Street on July 31, 2018, at 6:42 p.m. for a report of a heroin overdose. Upon arrival, they found Martella unresponsive inside the residence, and despite revival attempts, he was pronounced dead a short time later, the report states.
Martella’s cause of death was later determined to be heroin and fentanyl intoxication.
While on scene, police found baggies containing traces of a white powder, with some of them being stamped with “DANGER” along with a red skull and bones, according to the report. The ensuing investigation uncovered that Martella had been communicating with McCabe on the day of his death, in order to allegedly purchase heroin/fentanyl from her, the report states. Texts and calls indicated that Martella purchased the drugs from McCabe at her residence that day, according to the report.
“This overdose death of a young man is the result of someone selling deadly poison for greed and for profit, without caring about the consequences of her actions. There are consequences when you kill someone, and in this case, those consequences are being charged with Drug Delivery Resulting in Death,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. “Drug dealers need to hear this message: if we can prove that the drugs you sold caused someone’s death, you will be charged with homicide and face up to 20 to 40 years in prison.”
As a result of the investigation, McCabe has been charged with felony counts of criminal homicide-drug delivery resulting in death, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, criminal use of a communication facility and possession with intent to distribute, as well as misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
McCabe was arraigned this morning by Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine, who set bail at $500,000 cash. She was then remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to post bail.
Her next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on July 17 at 11:45 a.m. in front of Judge Levine.
(Editor's note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)
See also:
Souderton Man Charged In Stabbing Of Off-Duty Lansdale Police Officer
Man Accused Of Stealing Excavator From Work Site In Hatfield
Woman Stabs Husband In Stomach, Charged With Aggravated Assault: Police
Hatfield Man Accused Of Killing Girlfriend’s 4-Year-Old Daughter, Faces First Degree Murder Charges
Philadelphia Trio Accused of Stealing $3300 of Merchandise from JCPenney
