Girard man convicted of all charges in overdose of woman that led to her death
Erie County prosecutors used evidence including a roommate's testimony and a series of text messages in arguing that a Girard man was responsible for supplying the fentanyl that caused a 32-year-old woman's overdose death on Dec. 16, 2021.
A jury accepted that argument.
The jury of nine men and three women deliberated for a little less than five hours over two days before finding 26-year-old Anthony J. Long guilty on Thursday afternoon of all charges, including a first-degree felony count of drug delivery resulting in death, in the death of Erika Mininger of Girard.
The jury returned its verdict at 1 p.m. Thursday following two days of testimony in the trial, which opened on Tuesday. They also found Long guilty of felony counts of possession with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication facility, and misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Erie County Judge Daniel Brabender, who presided over the trial, scheduled Long's sentencing for June 28 at 9 a.m.
"We feel for the Mininger family, and we're happy justice was found for Erika," Assistant District Attorney Charles Cantrell, who prosecuted the case with Assistant District Attorney Tayler Moses, said following the verdict.
Long's court-appointed lawyer, Keith Clelland, said he was moderately surprised by the verdict because the prosecution's first witness, Mininger's roommate, admitted that he had lied repeatedly during the investigation into Mininger's death.
What led to the charges?
Girard police charged Long in March 2023 following a lengthy investigation into Mininger's death. The investigating officer testified on Tuesday that Mininger was found face-down in her apartment in the 100 block of West Main Street.
Prosecutors presented testimony from Mininger's roommate, Joshua Cullison, who said he and Mininger had contacted Long and received drugs from him at their apartment. He said on the early morning of Dec. 16, 2021, he found Mininger on the floor of the apartment they shared and thought she was sleeping, as she was snoring. He said he videotaped Mininger because he wanted to prove to her that she snores, and then he went to bed. Later that morning, he said he found Mininger cold to the touch.
Prosecutors also showed the jury a number of text messages taken from the phones of Mininger, Cullison and Long that they said showed the drug transactions.
Additional testimony was presented from the Girard police officer who investigated Mininger's death and filed the charges, two Erie County detectives and Erie County forensic pathologist Eric Vey, M.D. The Erie County Coroner's Office ruled that Mininger died of combined drug toxicity primarily involving fentanyl.
Clelland challenged Cullison during his cross-examination on Cullison's admissions to initially lying to police during the investigation and on his reason for hiding Mininger's phone after he found her dead. Clelland also raised questions about whether Mininger had ingested any other drugs obtained from others before she died. Cullison had stated under questioning by Clelland that Mininger left their apartment for about 45 minutes sometime that early morning or previous evening.
When Clelland asked Cullison if Mininger went to buy drugs, Cullison replied that is what Mininger said.
Long remains in the Erie County Prison on the $500,000 bond set at his arraignment on March 22, 2023.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Girard man found guilty in overdose of 32-year-old woman
