Colwyn man faces trial in sale of fatal heroin dose
CHESTER » A Colwyn man charged with selling a fatal dose of heroin to 28-yearold Charles “Andy” Bruhn at a Chester halfway house back in April of 2017 was held for court Monday on multiple offenses including drug delivery resulting in death, according to authorities and online court records.
Raheem Harper, 28, of the 400 block of Fourth Street, was additionally held for court on four counts of possession with the intent to manufacture or deliver, and criminal use of a communication facility, both felony offenses; as well as involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree misdemeanor. A charge of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, a second-degree misdemeanor, was withdrawn.
The preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Wilden H. Davis lasted about an hour Monday morning, with Delaware County Deputy District Attorney Sharon McKenna, chief of the county’s narcotics unit, calling four prosecution witnesses to the stand including Chester Police Detective Steven Byrne and Bruhn’s mother, Byrne said after the hearing. Defense attorney Shaka Mzee Johnson, when contacted after Monday’s hearing, had no comment, according to a clerk in his Philadelphia law office.
Harper was already serving state time for heroin distribution when he was arrested in the Bruhn case on June 11. He is currently in custody at the county prison, according to a statewide prisoner database. The charge of drug delivery resulting in death, a first-degree felony, carries a maximum 20 to 40 year sentence. If convicted of all the offenses, he faces 69 years in prison.
According to authorities and his mother, Bruhn was discovered at a residence in the 1500 block of Edgmont Avenue April 21, 2017.
He was pronounced dead at the scene with a hypodermic needle and the remains of a bag of heroin stamped “Hurricane” on the floor beside him, Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun Copeland said in announcing Harper’s arrest. Five additional bags, all stamped in the same manner, were allegedly found in the victim’s pocket.
Delaware County Medical Examiner Dr. Fredric N. Hellman determined the cause of death was multiple drug intoxication, specifically for heroin and fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that can be fatal in extremely small doses.
Byrne said Monday that he testified about being called to the scene of the residence in Chester last year, finding the narcotics marked “Hurricane,” and later speaking to the deceased man’s family who provided a phone number for his alleged drug dealer – information that ultimately aided in charging Harper.
Harper was also arrested April 21, 2017, for allegedly being in possession of 18 other baggies stamped “Hurricane” during a routine traffic stop in Tinicum, according to a release from the county. He posted bail in that case but was rearrested after another traffic stop in Clifton Heights with more than 1,500 bags of heroin on May 6, 2017, the release says. Copeland said the 1,500 bags in the second arrest did not bear the “Hurricane” stamp and did not contain fentanyl.
Online court records indicate Harper entered an open guilty plea to possession with intent to deliver before Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge John Capuzzi on Nov. 17 and was sentenced to five and a half to 12 years in state prison with seven years of probation.
An investigation into Bruhn’s death allegedly revealed text messages indicating Harper had delivered the deadly fentanyllaced
Harper was also arrested April 21, 2017, for allegedly being in possession of 18 other baggies stamped “Hurricane” during a routine traffic stop in Tinicum, according to a release from the county. He posted bail in that case but was rearrested after another traffic stop in Clifton Heights with more than 1,500 bags of heroin on May 6, 2017, the release says. Copeland said the 1,500 bags in the second arrest did not bear the “Hurricane” stamp and did not contain fentanyl.
heroin that killed the victim. Harper had allegedly met with the victim on April 6, April 9, April 11 and finally on April 19, according to investigators.
Copeland said the victim had just come out of rehab months before his death. She said the man paid for the first delivery by giving Harper a PlayStation 4 and paid amounts of cash starting around $40 in subsequent deliveries.
“That’s what it came down to,” said Copeland. “On one occasion he trades him for a PlayStation, on several occasions, $40 worth of drugs. And he lost his life over that – over $40 worth of heroin. It’s a sad day.”
Copeland previously thanked the victim’s family for their patience as the investigation played out, and praised the work of Byrne and Delaware County Detective Timothy Deery for tracking down Harper as the alleged seller.
“(Harper) preyed upon the victim’s weakness and desperation, taking advantage of his struggle with addiction,” Copeland said. “In this case, Raheem Harper repeatedly delivered drugs for profit in exchange for another man’s life.”
Stacey McHugh could not be reached for comment Monday. In a previous interview she said her son, who was born and raised in Drexel Hill and was a 2007 graduate of Upper Darby High School, had been clean for seven months before he overdosed on heroin in the halfway house in Chester.
The mother said, “A dealer came there and sold him drugs.”
McHugh, a nurse, said she last spoke to her son on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, about 6:30 p.m. During that call, Andy told his mother that he would call her again later that night.
She never got that call. When Thursday went by and she still didn’t hear from her son, one of Andy’s friends went to the halfway house on Friday to check on him.
“His friend found him in his locked room,” she said.
While she seeks justice for her son, Stacey McHugh also wants to help others suffering from addiction.
In honor of her son, ANDY (Addiction Never Defines You) Forever was started to help others through the addiction process. The non-profit organization supports the recovery of individuals, communities and families suffering from addiction through support, education and awareness.
Next month, Andy Forever will present a Drug Prevention and Education Community Day and Overdose Awareness Walk, from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 15 at Arlington Field, located at the corner of Shadeland Avenue and State Road in Upper Darby.