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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Tipton man who pleaded guilty Friday in Blair County court to drug delivery resulting in death and related offenses has been sentenced to five to 15 years in a state prison.
Ralph G. Osterhout, 41, was charged in the June 2, 2020, death of 33-year-old Vincent McFadden of Bellwood, who died of a heroin and fentanyl overdose.
Osterhout has been incarcerated in the Blair County Prison since his arrest on Sept. 16, 2020. An investigation by Bellwood, Altoona and Tyrone police, along with narcotics agents from the state Attorney General's Office, identified Osterhout as the person who sold heroin to McFadden before his fatal overdose.
Police relied on surveillance video and McFadden's cellphone records to track where McFadden went after receiving a text message from "Randy." McFadden responded by asking Osterhout to give him a ride to a convenience store ATM machine in Bellwood so he could get money to complete the purchase.
In filing charges against Osterhout, police noted that McFadden had discharge papers at his residence, indicating that he had been at UPMC Altoona on June 2 where he was treated at 7 a.m. for an overdose. His autopsy report, according to police, showed that he overdosed a second time that same day and died about 11 p.m.
His body, found at his residence on North First Street in Bellwood, was discovered in the afternoon of June 3.
Senior Judge Timothy M. Sullivan accepted Osterhout's guilty pleas, presented by First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith and defense attorney George W. Bills Jr. of Pittsburgh for the recommended sentence.
In addition to drug delivery resulting in death, Osterhout pleaded guilty to dealing in proceeds of an unlawful act, three counts of possession with intent to deliver, criminal use of a communication facility and recklessly endangering another person.
Sullivan imposed concurrent sentences on those charges and for misdemeanor drug and drug paraphernalia possession charges that were also pending from 2020.
Sullivan told Osterhout that he will be entitled to credit for time served, as calculated by the state Department of Corrections. Sullivan also told Osterhout that he can be considered for entry into the state Drug Treatment Program, which also rests with the state Corrections Department.
Osterhout's entry of guilty pleas on Friday follows an unsuccessful attempt that Bills initiated to get charges dismissed. In late December, Judge Jackie Bernard dismissed Bills' claims and attributed delays in the case to the defense.
Bills attempted to challenge Bernard's conclusion with an interlocutory appeal to the state Superior Court. But in February, the state court quashed the appeal. That allowed the case to be scheduled for jury selection in late March, but the selection was put on hold in light of plea negotiations.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.