Defense attorney pleads guilty in cover-up of man’s overdose death
A Pittsburgh defense attorney pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to endangering another person and obstructing an investigation stemming from a man’s overdose death in June 2017.
Kevin Abramovitz, 38, who has been in jail for a week after his bond was revoked because of allegations that he violated its conditions, will be sentenced in about three months. He will likely end up with probation.
He was expected to be released from custody Tuesday and is required to report to inpatient drug rehabilitation on Thursday.
At a hearing late last week, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning raised concerns about Mr. Abramovitz’s competency, noting that a toxicology screen showed he had used several substances.
“Most people with those numbers of drugs with those quantities would be dead,” the judge said.
But at Tuesday’s hearing, Mr. Abramovitz, dressed in jail reds, answered Judge Manning’s questions thoroughly and agreed he was clearheaded.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, Mr. Abramovitz pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, hindering apprehension, obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence. All of the counts he pleaded to are misdemeanors.
Mr. Abramovitz and his girlfriend, Danielle Smith, who is a co-defendant, received a phone call in the middle of the night on June 24 that a man staying in Mr. Abramovitz’s vacant Squirrel Hill apartment had overdosed.
That witness told police that he or she did CPR and called Ms. Smith, and the couple arrived at the apartment 10 minutes later.
Mr. Abramovitz left again to retrieve Narcan, a drug that can reverse an opioid overdose, and returned 10 minutes later.
The Narcan had no effect, and the witness asked the couple to call 911.
They refused, the complaint said, because they did not want the police to come. Instead, according to Mr. Abramovitz’s defense attorney, Mr. Abramovitz arranged for someone to drive the victim to the hospital.
However, the driver got upset and pushed the victim out of the car in an alley. Mr. Abramovitz then called 911 anonymously, and the victim’s body was found, wrapped in a purple comforter, at the rear of a home on Fair Oaks Street.
Police said Mr. Abramovitz and Ms. Smith also moved the victim’s car and wiped it down.
Defense attorney Komron Jon Maknoon told Judge Manning that Mr. Abramovitz got the call in the middle of the night and was thrown into a stressful situation.
“It’s a sad situation where he exercised bad judgment,” Mr. Maknoon said.
At last week’s hearing, Mr. Maknoon said it was likely his client would voluntarily transfer his law license to inactive status. “Kevin will be back,” he said. “We expect a bright future from him.”