Man indicted in Geauga OD death

A Cleveland man has been indicted on an involuntary manslaughter charge for allegedly selling a Chardon Township man a fatal combination of fentanyl and heroin.

Brandon Sherman, 24, was found dead at a Kirtland Road home on Nov. 12, 2016. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the cause of death was acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl and heroin.

After an investigation by Geauga County Sheriff’s Office deputies that included undercover drug buys, it was determined that the drugs had been bought from 24-year-old Ronnell Smith, Geauga County Prosecutor James Flaiz said.

Smith was charged this week with one count each of involuntary manslaughter, corrupting another with drugs, aggravated trafficking in drugs and trafficking in heroin.

“Our office is committed to working with the Sheriff’s Office to aggressively pursue holding drug dealers accountable for overdose deaths that occur in our county,” Flaiz said.

Smith is currently incarcerated in the Lorain Correctional Institution for felony convictions in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

Meanwhile, the case of Savonn Primm, a Cleveland man accused of selling heroin that led to two other overdose deaths in Geauga County, is pending.

Primm, 22, allegedly sold heroin to Laurie Pavella, 48, and Sonya Sheppard, 46. The women were found dead on April 6, 2016, in an upstairs bedroom in the home Pavella rented on Washington Street in Auburn Township.

Primm is charged with five counts — two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count each of corrupting another with drugs, trafficking in heroin and aggravated trafficking in drugs.

Smith