Man sentenced for murder in fatal overdose case, first in Maryland
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HAVRE DE GRACE, Maryland (WBAL) — Maryland has had its first conviction of murder in a case that involved a fatal overdose after a Havre de Grace man pleaded guilty Friday.
According to the office of the state’s attorney for Harford County, 43-year-old Kusan Hines pleaded guilty to second-degree depraved heart murder and distribution of controlled dangerous substances. This was from a case back in October when a 33-year-old man died of an overdose of fentanyl and cocaine.
According to police, during an interview, Hines admitted to going to the victim’s apartment to cook crack cocaine and smoke with him. The victim smoked the crack cocaine, most likely unaware that it contained fentanyl, and began to “act weird.” Hines would then leave the victim alone in his apartment without seeking medical assistance.
Police would find the victim’s body after a handyman, who could not gain access to the apartment, saw the man slumped over in a bedroom through a window. A medical examiner determined the victim’s cause of death to be fentanyl and cocaine intoxication. An investigation by police placed Hines in the victim’s apartment the day before his body was discovered.
Hines was sentenced to 12 years in prison with five years of supervised probation following release.
State’s Attorney Alison Healey issued the following statement:
“I cannot say enough about the importance of this case and the precedent it has set for how we will handle future overdose cases in Harford County. I commend Assistant State’s Attorney Stuart Welch for his tireless efforts and collaboration with our Harford County Drug Taskforce to support the investigation and prosecution of those that deal drugs in our communities, especially in cases that result in death. To our knowledge, this is the first murder conviction in the State of Maryland related to a fatal overdose, and Harford County has now opened the door for this to become the norm.”
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