Defendant Sold Oxycodone to a Disabled Man, Contributing to His Death

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced on Wednesday, May 29, 2019, that, Katelynn Smith, age 24, of Port Jervis, has been sentenced in connection with the April 18, 2018, death of a disabled Port Jervis man, whom Smith had illegally sold oxycodone to. On October 11, 2018, Smith pled guilty to Criminally Negligent Homicide and Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree before County Court Judge William L. DeProspo. Judge DeProspo sentenced Smith to six years in prison and a term of post-release supervision on the drug charge, to run concurrently with a term of from one to three years in prison on the homicide charge.

When Smith pled guilty in October, she admitted that on April 18, 2018, she illegally sold oxycodone to a quadriplegic man in his Port Jervis home. She further admitted that she helped the man take the pills by crushing them and rolling up a dollar bill for him to snort the crushed pills. Smith acknowledged that she was aware the man was drinking vodka at the time and that he took other medications, including Klonopin, a sedative. The man later died, after Smith left him alone. Autopsy findings revealed the man’s cause of death to be a combination of oxycodone, alcohol, and the active ingredient in Klonopin.

Smith’s conviction may represent the first time in Orange County history that a defendant has been convicted of homicide as a result of illegally selling drugs.

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Port Jervis Police Department for their efforts in the investigation and prosecution of the case.

“It’s common knowledge that we are in the midst of an opiate epidemic,” said District Attorney Hoovler, “an epidemic where drug dealers, in their efforts to make an illegal profit, are literally killing people. Drug dealers must be punished, not just for selling drugs, but for the damage they do to people whose lives they affect. This case should serve as fair warning to drug dealers out there: If you sell drugs in Orange County and the buyer dies, we’re coming after you.”

District Attorney Hoovler commended Senior Assistant District Attorney Kelle Grimmer for her prosecution of the case.