Alleged drug ring leader charged in 28-year-old woman’s death

State and local police arrested 12 people for allegedly routing prescription opioids and other drugs from New York City to the midstate.

• Brett Sholtis
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  Brett Sholtis was a health reporter for WITF/Transforming Health until early 2023. Sholtis is the 2021-2022 Reveal Benjamin von Sternenfels Rosenthal Grantee for Mental Health Investigative Journalism with the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. His award-winning work on problem areas in mental health policy and policing helped to get a woman moved from a county jail to a psychiatric facility. Sholtis is a University of Pittsburgh graduate and a Pennsylvania Army National Guard Kosovo campaign veteran.

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(Chambersburg) — David Bruce Darby of Chambersburg allegedly ran a drug ring that routed cocaine and the prescription opioid oxycodone from New York City to Franklin and Cumberland counties.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro says Darby also provided narcotics that led to the death of 28-year-old Kayla Bertone of Chambersburg. For that alleged crime, Shapiro is charging Darby with drug delivery resulting in death.

That charge has been used in recent years to attempt to staunch the flow of opioids that are increasingly cut with the lethal synthetic drug fentanyl.

“The victim who overdosed had more than twice the intravenous therapeutic level of fentanyl in her blood,” Shapiro’s office said in a news release. “What’s more, this New York-to-Chambersburg pipeline flushed 6,000 pills and cocaine into the Franklin County area.”

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David Bruce Darby was charged with drug delivery resulting in death.

As a law, drug delivery resulting in death has been on the books for decades, but was unheard of until the opioid crisis hit hard in the region, said then-Pennsylvania District Attorney Association President John Adams in 2018. However, some groups, such as Drug Policy Alliance, say there’s no evidence the charge reduces drug sales or overdose deaths.

The U.S. Marshals Service, Franklin County District Attorney, Franklin County Drug Task Force, Pennsylvania State Police, Chambersburg Police Department, Washington Township Police Department, Waynesboro Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, and the Shippensburg Police Department were all part of the investigation.

Charges include:

• David Bruce Darby, 41, violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity; corrupt organizations; criminal conspiracy; drug delivery resulting in death; criminal use of a communications facility; and persons not to possess a firearm.
• Sarah Catherine Turesky, 34, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity; corrupt organizations; violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; criminal use of a communication facility.
• Delisha Keyon Redden, 39, violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; corrupt organizations; drug delivery resulting in death; criminal conspiracy; and criminal use of a communication facility.
• Cedric Stephens, 48, violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity; corrupt organizations.
• Natasha Gomez, 38, violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity; corrupt organizations.
• Jonathan Butler, 41, violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity; corrupt organizations.
• Karen Marie Sloane, 49, violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity; corrupt organizations.
• Alycia Logsdon 30, violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; corrupt organizations; criminal conspiracy; and criminal use of a communication facility.
• Stacey Spoonhour, 39, violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; corrupt organizations; criminal conspiracy; and criminal use of a communication facility.
• David Hemphill, 57, violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; corrupt organizations; criminal conspiracy; and criminal use of a communication facility.
• Michael Campoli, 54, corrupt organizations; criminal conspiracy; and criminal use of a communication facility.
• Malik Bonds, 39, violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; corrupt organizations; criminal conspiracy; and criminal use of a communication facility.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Robert Smulktis will prosecute the case.

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