Coaldale drug death goes to court

A Coaldale woman is headed to court for a 2017 overdose death after a motions hearing Tuesday in front of Judge Charles M. Miller in Schuylkill County Court.

Kayla M. Leibowitz, 29, was seeking to have some of the charges dismissed in the overdose death of George Dougherty, 25, also of Coaldale, in March 2017.

She will stand trial in the next term of court, which is slated for the end of May.

Also at the hearing, Berks County Assistant District Attorney Colin R. Boyer called two witnesses for testimony: arresting officer and Coaldale Police Chief Keith Krapf, and Berks County detective Sgt. Pasquale Leporace, who was deemed an expert in drugs and narcotics for his years of work with the Reading police department dating back to 1994.

Leibowitz is represented by public defender Kimm R. Montone. Boyer is handling the case due to a conflict of interest.

Krapf recounted his arrest of Leibowitz in 2017, testifying that Dougherty was found dead in his Coaldale home on March 9, 2017. The cause of death was acute fentanyl toxicity, as determined by a coroner’s report.

Krapf noted that when he arrived on scene he found within Dougherty’s possession 24 empty bags, presumed to be heroin, a plastic spoon used to “cook” the drugs and a syringe located within a bottle of detergent.

Krapf added that only the spoon was tested at a forensics lab, as the needle was considered to be contaminated from sitting in the detergent bottle. The results of this test just came back, but were not yet admitted as evidence.

Dougherty’s cellphone showed online messages about drug sales exchanged between him and Leibowitz the night before his death, Krapf testified.

Dougherty was found at 8:32 a.m. March 9, on a couch in the basement, according to Krapf.

Leibowitz later admitted to Krapf that the “Messenger” app texts were from her and that she sold Dougherty four bags of heroin, he testified.

According to the affidavit, Leibowitz and Dougherty communicated on the “Messenger” app on March 7 and March 8, while she was using the alias “Alanda McGinley.”

Dougherty then went to her home the evening of March 8.

According to Krapf, Leibowitz admitted the victim did heroin at the home and that he left with an additional two bags of heroin, saying that when she was apprehended and questioned, she “knew this was coming.”

Her statements were made during an interview on June 21, 2017.

Krapf charged Leibowitz with drug delivery resulting in death, possession of a controlled substance, delivery of a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility.

On the stand, Leporace spoke of the overall opioid epidemic plaguing the country, saying this case was a textbook example of a dealer/user supporting drug habits through distribution of the drug.

Earlier at a February hearing, Leibowitz admitted to being addicted to heroin, but said she’s been clean since her imprisonment. She also said she’s undergoing drug and alcohol counseling.

Leporace testified to the potency and availability of fentanyl, the opioid present in the toxicology report for Dougherty.

According to Leporace’s testimony, fentanyl came to prominence among opioid abusers over a decade ago. The reason it has risen in prominence is because it is easier to manufacture than standard heroin.

He also added that the two are nearly indistinguishable, even to dealers. He said that often, users and dealers are unaware of fentanyl content in “street dealt” heroin.

Also at the hearing, Dougherty’s mother and brothers were present, but were dismissed pending further testimony during the trial.