Trial begins for Altoona man accused in overdose death
Caldwell accused of providing drugs that led to overdose
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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Blair County jury heard testimony from a number of witnesses Tuesday during the first day of trial for the city man accused of providing the drugs that led to the overdose death of 40-year-old Christy Clifford in April 2025.
Danny Lee Caldwell Jr., 38, is facing single felony counts of drug delivery resulting in death, possession with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication facility, as well as single misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The charges were brought against Caldwell after he called 911 to seek help for Clifford and administered five doses of Narcan to no avail. Paramedics transported Clifford to UPMC Altoona, where she was declared brain dead days later, the police report states.
Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Thomas called the day's first witness, a paramedic with AMED, who stated he was dispatched to a residence along the 1900 block of 11th Street for a woman overdosing.
The paramedic said he and his partner were having trouble finding a pulse on Clifford, Altoona Police Officer Zachary Nealen told them he thought he found one.
The paramedics began life saving measures including suctioning vomit from Clifford's airway, performing CPR and administering epinephrine and IV fluids. He said they were able to get Clifford's heart beating, but it was arrhythmic.
"She was very unstable," the paramedic said. "We had a return of heartbeat for maybe 60 seconds, a minute and a half, before losing it again."
On cross-examination, the paramedic confirmed for Chief Public Defender Julia Burke that there were used Narcan cartridges around Clifford when they arrived. He also said he was familiar with xylazine, a horse tranquilizer that fentanyl can be cut with, and that Narcan doesn't work on the drug.
Following the paramedic's testimony, Thomas called expert forensic pathologist Harry Kamerow to the stand. Through questioning by Thomas, Kamerow, who performed Clifford's autopsy and made a subsequent report, said Clifford's manner and cause of death was accidental multidrug overdose from methamphetamine, fentanyl and xylazine.
Kamerow stated the amount of meth found in Clifford's system was "certainly in the overdose range." He said the concentration of xylazine was "relatively low" but mixing it with fentanyl depresses respiratory function.
Kamerow explained that meth makes the heart "beat very fast" and when this happens, it needs more oxygen. When paired with the depressed respiratory function from the fentanyl and xylazine, the combination of drugs "is a recipe for a fatal cardiac arrhythmia," Kamerow said.
When asked by Burke if he relies on law enforcement at the autopsy to provide background information that helps form his opinion, Kamerow said yes. He said officers told him Clifford was found unresponsive in a "known drug house" and that he didn't know a bystander was present, only that Clifford had been given Narcan.
Burke asked Kamerow if it would be unlikely for Clifford to regain a pulse if she were left untreated for hours, to which he said "she likely would have died."
The jury also heard testimony from the Uber driver who allegedly unknowingly drove Caldwell and Clifford to buy the drugs. The driver said he picked up Caldwell and "a female" from the 11th Street address about 2:10 a.m. the day of the overdose.
"They were laughing and joking and having a good time," he said.
When asked by Thomas about where he took Caldwell and Clifford, the driver said to a residence along Ski Gap Road in Claysburg. He said Caldwell told him that he "was going to get his prescription."
After leaving Claysburg, Caldwell took the pair to a Sheetz in Altoona but that Caldwell gave him $20 to return him to the 11th Street residence.
Thomas asked the driver if Nealan had been in contact with him regarding the trip, to which the driver said he did the next day. Since the trip had occurred recently, the driver was able to show Nealan the map of stops taken while he was driving Caldwell.
On cross-examination, Burke asked the driver about the option Uber gives its drivers to automatically record audio and/or video during their trips. He said it was an option, but he only recorded audio at the time.
"That's something you have to go through Uber to get," he said.
The last witness of the day was Altoona Cpl. Garrett Trent, who described Caldwell as "more or less the middle man" of the drug transaction.
Under questioning by Burke, Trent confirmed that a needle containing a reddish-brown substance, an empty blue wax packet and a small plastic zip-top bag found on scene were never sent for testing. He said the needle was found nowhere near Clifford but couldn't say if she had come into contact with it.
Caldwell has been held at the Blair County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail since his arrest on July 17, 2025. Testimony is expected to resume today at 8:30 a.m.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.