Charles Stutler was convicted Friday by a jury of involuntary manslaughter in the drug overdose death of a 24-year-old woman. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
CANTON A Carrollton man will spend 10 years in prison for selling a lethal opioid to a woman who died of an overdose.
On Friday, a Stark County Common Pleas Court jury found Charles D. Stutler, 27, guilty of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated drug trafficking.
During the trial earlier this week, Toni Schnellinger, an assistant Stark County prosecutor, told jurors that Stutler had sold carfentanil to a 24-year-old woman on March 31, 2017. The transaction occurred between 12:35 and 12:45 p.m. and the woman overdosed around eight hours later, Schnellinger said.
Carfentanil is one of the most potent opioids — a class of drugs that includes heroin and some prescription painkillers — and is used to sedate large animals, such as elephants and rhinos. The drug is 10,000 times more powerful than morphine and 100 times more powerful than fentanyl, a painkiller that has caused fatal overdoses in Stark County in recent years.
The victim's mother found the woman unresponsive at a home in Osnaburg Township and called 911. A paramedic testified that multiple doses of Narcan were unsuccessful in reversing the overdose. Attempts to resuscitate the woman continued in the ambulance before the victim was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Jurors deliberated for about two-and-a-half hours Friday before reaching the verdict. Judge Taryn Heath sentenced Stutler.
"We were pleased with the verdict and I think what it came down to is the law is the law and that's what was really important," Schnellinger said, referring to state law regarding involuntary manslaughter.
The victim had battled drug addiction in the past and she died two days before she had planned to admit herself into a rehabilitation facility with the support of family, Schnellinger said.
This was the first such case to go to trial during the opioid epidemic, Schnellinger said. Several previous fatal overdose cases have resulted in plea agreements on involuntary manslaughter charges.
The prosecution's case included testimony from co-defendant Kayla M. Carroll, who previously pleaded guilty to obstructing justice in the Stutler investigation.
Carroll testified that Stutler had told her he sold and provided the drug to the woman who fatally overdosed.
Carroll, 27, of Canton, will be sentenced Monday.
Schnellinger credited law enforcement officers for their role in the case.
"They investigated this case and did an amazing job," the assistant prosecutor said of the Stark County Sheriff's Office and the Stark County Metro Narcotics Unit. "They're very dedicated to the prosecution of these cases."
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