Metro

CLEARFIELD — After a two-day trial in Clearfield County, a jury decided that a Houtzdale man was not responsible for the overdose death of another man.

Bruce Patrick Raab, 44, Houtzdale, was acquitted of drug delivery resulting in death and involuntary manslaughter. He was convicted of delivery of a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility, recklessly endangering another person and possession of a controlled substance.

It took just over two hours for the group of seven men and five women to reach their decision on Friday.

Senior Judge Oliver J. Lobaugh of Venango County, who is specially presiding over the trial, said Raab will be sentenced at 10 a.m. Aug. 4.

Raab was accused of providing fentanyl to Justin Moore after Moore’s parents found him dead in his room after 4 p.m. on Nov. 27, 2023.

Messages between Moore and Raab were found on his phone and iPad revealing he was arranging to buy drugs from Raab the night before his death.

Testimony from officers of the Clearfield Regional Police Department involved with the investigation illustrated how the two discussed prices and amounts of the drug.

Although nothing was specified, Officer Zachary Cowan, who has extensive experience with drug dealers and drug lingo, testified on Friday that the victim told Raab that he hadn’t been able to get high since he was released from the county jail about two weeks earlier.

“Everyone else must think I’m snitching or something,” the victim commented to Raab.

While considering prices, Raab told the victim he could get “one and half bun” for $80. Cowan explained this was half a bundle or five stamp bags of fentanyl. Messages were exchanged back and forth for a few hours setting up the payment and pickup until the victim messaged Raab thanking him.

Defense attorney Steven Trialonas asked Officer Ethan Fritz about the time stamp on the list of the messages provided by Meta since they came from Facebook’s messenger application.

Fritz was unable to answer what UTC meant, but Trialonas noted that this was the designation for universal time. This would mean the last message sent by the victim was not at 3:38 a.m. as the police believed, but five hours earlier at 10:38 the previous night.

This revelation severely impacted the timeline of events prior to the victim’s death. The victim’s time of death was estimated to be about 6 a.m. with the cause of death being mixed drug toxicity.

The victim was found face down in bed with a straw and lighter in his right hand and a piece of foil under his mouth, according to previous reports.

On Thursday, a lab technician, Jennifer Swateck of NMS Labs, testified that the samples from the victim she received included caffeine, nicotine, fentanyl, nor fentanyl which is metabolized fentanyl, 4-ANPP which is a precursor to making fentanyl, and amphetamine which could have been from metabolized methamphetamine.

She stated that the amount of amphetamine in his system, 210 nanograms per milliliter, was below the range for it to be fatal. The amount of fentanyl was 15 nanograms per milliliter.

During his cross-examination, Trialonas asked about combining a stimulant, amphetamine, and a depressant, fentanyl.

“Various drugs can overstress the body in general,” Swateck stated.

“Could the drugs together be more toxic than taken separately?” Trialonas asked, to which she replied “yes.”

Testing done on the straw showed traces of methamphetamine and fentanyl, but the foil only had fentanyl on it, according to a witness from the state police Erie Crime Lab.

In his closing arguments, Trialonas criticized Fritz’s investigation, noting the victim’s room was not searched for further evidence, including other drugs and empty stamp bags. Fritz also did not follow up on the message from Raab about a local convenience store and try to obtain surveillance video.

Trialonas pointed out numerous holes in the story such as when and how the money was exchanged first, and where the actual drug transaction took place later. The confusion with the time codes was another problem which Trialonas was the only one to notice.

“I don’t like standing here throwing about possibilities,” he said.

The commonwealth needed to give you the info to decide the case, Trialonas told the jury. “I shouldn’t have to pull it out.”

He referred to the case and the victim’s death as “tragic” but asked them to consider whether the prosecution had proved the crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.

In his closing, District Attorney Ryan Sayers summed up the case by saying Raab delivered drugs to the victim and the victim died. There were no other messages about drugs after the victim thanked Raab, he noted.

Sayers accused Trialonas of creating “red herrings” to distract the jury from what actually happened.

Raab remains in the county jail. He has a burglary case pending in Clearfield County, with the trial scheduled for August.