The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Abington man charged in Hatfield man’s overdose death
NORRISTOWN » An Abington man faces a homiciderelated charge in connection with the drug overdose death of a Hatfield man last summer.
Ronald Michael Brauning Jr., 40, of the 1300 block of Birchwood Avenue, was arraigned before District Court Judge Edward Levine of Lansdale on charges of drug delivery resulting in death, involuntary manslaughter, possession of and possession with intent to deliver controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia in connection with the Aug. 14, 2017, overdose death of 36-yearold Ronald Solomon of Hatfield. Bail was set at $750,000, which Brauning was unable to post and he remains at the county jail awaiting his preliminary hearing on March 30.
With the charges, authorities alleged Brauning sold Solomon fentanyl and methamphetamine on Aug. 13.
“After purchasing these drugs, the victim returned home where he ingested the drugs and died,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said. “A bag of drugs was found hidden beneath Mr. Solomon’s cellphone case.”
Steele alleged tests determined the bag contained methamphetamine.
An autopsy determined Solomon died from a combined drug intoxication of methamphetamine and fentanyl, according to court papers. Officials alleged the amount of fentanyl in the victim’s blood alone would have killed him, even in the absence of any of the other substances in his system.
“Ronald Solomon died in his garage from being poisoned by drugs, fentanyl and methamphetamine, sold to him by a dealer. This dealer knew how deadly these drugs were and sold it to the victim anyway, just to make money,” Steele alleged.
Brauning is the first person to be charged with drug delivery resulting in death this year.
“As long as drug dealers continue to peddle their deadly poison in Montgomery County, our law enforcement personnel will seek to hold them accountable for these deaths,” Steele said.
An investigation began about 2:25 a.m. Aug. 14 when Hatfield police responded to Solomon’s home in the 1700 block of Koffel Road for a medical emergency involving an unresponsive person. Upon arrival police found Solomon’s girlfriend performing back compressions on Solomon, who was lying on a garage floor, according to the criminal complaint filed by Hatfield Detective Richard Hoffner and Special County Detective Gregory Pitchford.
Solomon’s girlfriend told detectives she awoke to find Solomon unresponsive on the floor and called 911, according to court papers.
Police began performing CPR and two doses of Naloxone were administered to Solomon but he remained unresponsive.
“Police and emergency medical services personnel performed lifesaving measures with no avail,” alleged Hoffner and Pitchford, adding Solomon was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 3:03 a.m.
During the investigation, detectives uncovered cellphone calls and text messages between Solomon and Brauning that occurred during the evening hours of Aug. 13. Investigators used cellphone analysis and mapping as well as video surveillance footage to determine that Solomon met Brauning sometime after 9:18 p.m. Aug, 13 at a residence on Penn Street in Lansdale and Brauning sold fentanyl and methamphetamine to Solomon, according to the criminal complaint.
Detectives also learned that Brauning was arrested at 3:10 a.m. Aug. 14, about 45 minutes after Solomon’s overdose death, by Montgomery Township police when he was found asleep in his vehicle on the parking lot of a hotel on Bethlehem Pike. Detectives alleged they found methamphetamine, a digital scale and heroin in a black pouch in Brauning’s possession.
“The five smaller bags of suspected crystal methamphetamine found in Ronald Brauning’s possession were found to be the same size, style, and type as the single bag of suspected crystal methamphetamine found inside Ronald Solomon’s cellular telephone’s protective phone case,” detectives alleged.
A conviction of drug delivery resulting in death can carry a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.