NORRISTOWN — A Delaware man is headed to state prison after he admitted that he acted with gross negligence when he delivered what he believed was cocaine, but which turned out to contain the dangerous drug fentanyl, to a Lower Merion woman who later died after ingesting the substance.
Darryl Wesley Brown Jr., 33, of the 3400 block of Broom Place, Wilmington, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Monday to 1½ to 3 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and possession with intent to deliver controlled substances in connection with the August 2020 death of 23-year-old Emma Allen in the Haverford section of Lower Merion.
“Fentanyl is a very, very dangerous drug and it kills,” said Judge Wendy G. Rothstein who noted that many street drugs are now laced with fentanyl and that those selling controlled substances should assume that they are selling deadly fentanyl. “This was a tragedy.”
Rothstein said Brown must also complete two years’ probation following parole, meaning he will be under court supervision for five years.
Under state law, a person commits involuntary manslaughter when as a direct result of acting in a grossly negligent manner they cause the death of another person.
Brown apologized to Allen’s parents, who were in the courtroom, pleading for their forgiveness.
“It feels like a nightmare…” Brown said. “This is tragic and I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I’m not an evil person. I know I must face the consequences for my actions.”
Those who knew Allen described her as a “beautiful person, artistic and musical,” someone with a “pure heart who genuinely cared” for others, an intelligent woman who was an “independent thinker” and “an old soul in a young body.”
“Emma was precious to us. She was part of our hope for the future,” her father, Jeff Allen, told the judge.
“Emma didn’t overdose. She was poisoned. This wasn’t an overdose. It was a poisoning,” Kristine Allen, Emma’s mother, addressed the courtroom as she clutched a photo of her daughter and said the day was difficult for everyone. “Mr. Brown, I forgive you. Rise up and be awesome because that is what she (Emma) would want for you.”
Assistant District Attorney Roderick McCord Fancher III conceded that Brown didn’t know that the substance he sold to the victim contained fentanyl but he argued state prison time was warranted.
“He was putting poison on the streets,” said Fancher, adding Brown was selling drugs to make money.
Defense lawyer John I. McMahon Jr. said Brown didn’t know that someone had laced the cocaine with fentanyl before he delivered it to the victim and now he has to live with the “horrific consequences” of his actions.
“The level of tragedy is just completely indescribable,” said McMahon. “The defendant has accepted responsibility. He is truly remorseful. This was a friend. He has to live with that.
“He knows he’s responsible and he’s taking responsibility for his conduct,” McMahon said, adding Brown had no prior criminal record. “He’s ready to take his medicine like a man.”
Authorities said the investigation determined Allen thought she was purchasing cocaine and ecstasy but that Brown sold her a lethal dose of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
The investigation began about 12:50 p.m. Aug. 21, 2020, when Lower Merion police were dispatched to the Casa Del Sol apartments in the 400 block of West Lancaster Avenue for a report of a cardiac arrest. Arriving officers found Allen deceased on the living room floor of her apartment, according to a criminal complaint filed by Special Montgomery County Detective Andrew Rook and Lower Merion Detective Randall Hobbs.
Inside the apartment, police found a ceramic plate containing lines of a powdery substance, a credit card and a rolled-up $20 bill, which was indicative of drug usage, according to the arrest affidavit.
A subsequent autopsy determined Allen’s cause of death was from drug intoxication, fentanyl and methamphetamine.
During the investigation, detectives interviewed witnesses, analyzed phone contents, call detail and cell tower records and mobile cash application transactions to develop Brown as a suspect.
Detectives interviewed witnesses and searched the contents of Allen’s phone and determined that she had arranged via text to purchase a gram of cocaine and two ecstasy pills for $142 from Brown on the evening of Aug. 20, according to the arrest affidavit.
Brown texted that he would arrive at a parking lot next to Allen’s apartment building at 9:30 p.m. A review of Allen’s cash payment app account showed that she sent the $142 to the defendant’s account.
“However…instead of selling cocaine and ecstasy to Allen, Brown sold her heroin/fentanyl and methamphetamine,” Rook and Hobbs alleged in the criminal complaint.
Detectives, acting in an undercover capacity, initiated a text communication with Brown on Aug. 21 and arranged to purchase the same drugs that Allen purchased on Aug. 20, according to the arrest affidavit. Brown was arrested when he showed up at a meet location near Allen’s apartment and was originally charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.
At the time of his arrest, Brown was in possession of a clear plastic bag of white powder, pills and marijuana, authorities alleged. While being taken into custody, Brown allegedly stated that he did not know why he was being arrested as he was just there to visit his friend “Emma.”
A laboratory analysis of the contents on the plate and the residue on the rolled-up $20 bill and credit card found in the victim’s apartment determined they contained fentanyl and heroin, detectives said. Officials also tested the powder found on Brown at the time of his arrest and found it contained fentanyl and heroin while the pills seized during his arrest were found to be methamphetamine, court papers alleged.
