Richland Man Sentenced to Prison for “Drug Delivery Resulting in Death”

A heroin dealer will spend between eight-and-a-half and 20 years in state prison, following sentencing for the crime of “drug delivery resulting in death.” Twenty-nine-year-old Anthony L. Spencer sold heroin to 23-year-old Shawn Kemble, who subsequently died of an overdose in August 2015.  Under § 2506 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, Spencer could have received as much as 40 years in prison for the first-degree felony.

Judge Bradford Charles likened the sale and use of heroin to a game of Russian roulette. According to the Lebanon Daily News, the judge also ordered Spencer “to pay fines of $200 for charges of drug delivery resulting in death and possession of heroin. In addition, Spencer was ordered to pay restitution of $4,120, which included $520 to Kemble’s mother, Kelly Lamperez of Myerstown.” In response to a request from Ms. Lamperez, Spencer must pay her one dollar a week for the next 10 years, to keep her son’s memory alive in Spencer’s mind.

But while the court assured Spencer must keep Kemble in mind, the sentence also assures that Spencer, a father of three, is “not going to see [his] children grow up.” Judge Charles conceded Mr. Spencer “did not intend to kill anybody,” but claimed Spencer “did not give a rip” about bad batches of heroin. Consequently, “[Dealers] put those bad batches into the hands of people like Shawn, and they die.”

As is often the case these days, social media and technology aided the authorities in convicting Spencer. State police obtained search warrants for Kemble’s Facebook account and cellphone records. That cyber trail allowed police to connect Spencer to Kemble and the heroin that killed him.

Given the increasing number of drug deaths throughout Pennsylvania, we can expect more aggressive prosecution of drug dealers under § 2506.

If you are charged with a drug crime in the Reading area, protect your rights by meeting with criminal defense attorney David R. Eshelman today.