A Hatfield woman is among five people arrested and charged in connection with four recent fatal overdoses in Montgomery County.
Brenda McLaughlin, 37, has been charged with felony counts of drug delivery resulting in death, criminal use of a communications facility and possession with intent to deliver, as well as misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, in connection with the overdose death of 39-year-old Jared Dameron, of East Greenville, on Aug. 7, 2018.
According to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, a multi-organization investigation revealed that McLaughlin allegedly sold heroin/fentanyl to Dameron on Aug. 3, 2018. Dameron was found dead in his bedroom by his mother several days later, and the final autopsy listed his cause of death as acute intoxication by fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl and heroin.
“In the last two years, our team of detectives and local law enforcement have investigated all of our overdose deaths as potential homicides to see if they can determine who is responsible for causing the overdose death,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. “These five arrests for Drug Delivery Resulting in Death brings to 17 the number of times we have charged drug dealers with homicide in the last three years. We are sending a loud and clear message to those who traffic in this poison that if we can prove that the drugs you sold caused someone’s death, you will be charged with homicide.”
McLaughlin was arraigned on March 27 by Magisterial District Judge Maureen Coggins, who set bail at $1 million cash. She was then remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to post bail. McLaughlin’s next scheduled court appearance is a preliminary hearing on April 8 at 11 a.m. in front of Judge Coggins.
Also arrested were:
• Antonio Rivera, 33, of Philadelphia, in connection with the overdose deaths of Danielle Peterson, 29, of Abington, and 41-year-old Montgomery County Correctional Facility inmate Ronald Brauning.
• Maurice C. Johnson, 26, of Philadelphia, in connection with the overdose death of Kathleen Sicoli, 55, of Lower Providence.
• Mark R. Hertzog, 44, of Norristown, in connection with the overdose death of Daniel Marinari, 53, of Upper Merion.
• Kurt W. Espenship, 52, of King of Prussia, in connection with the overdose death of Daniel Marinari, 53, of Upper Merion.
A sixth defendant, Marquese H. Gaines, 27, of Philadelphia, has not been apprehended at this time. Gaines is also wanted on charges in connection with the overdose death of Daniel Marinari.
While final overdose death numbers for 2018 are not yet available from the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, Steele says these four cases are indicative of how widespread the heroin-opioid-fentanyl epidemic has hit all parts of Montgomery County and in all age groups.
“These four deceased individuals are just a tiny fraction of the more than 200 who died through overdose in Montgomery County in 2018 and early 2019. We must stem the tide of these deaths and the widespread pain caused to individuals and families by heroin and opioid addiction,” said Steele. “We need to make sure that those suffering from substance use disorder get the help they need. At the same time, we will continue to investigate and arrest these dealers who are profiting by selling these deadly drugs to stop them from killing more people.”
(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.)
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