Cops: Man Who Sold Deadly Drugs Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter

A Bristol Township man is facing serious charges after a bad batch of drugs ended the life of a Levittown man.

Derron Thompson, 25, was charged Tuesday with felony of delivering a drug which resulted in death, two felonies of possession with intent to deliver, a felony of using a communications facility to orchestrate the deal, a misdemeanor of involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor of endangering another person, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia after several months of investigation.

On January 10, 2017, police officers were dispatched to Sugarmaple Lane in Bristol Township’s Levittown section. The call was for a 30-year-old man who had overdosed on heroin. First responders were unable to reverse the overdose and Tyler Mulhern died.

In Mulhern’s bathroom police discovered a number of baggies that tested positive for fentanyl, according to court papers.

Investigators examined Mulhern’s phone with the permission of his father. While going through the device, officers discovered that Mulhern was planning to purchase drugs with another individual on January 10. This second individual confirmed to police that the two were planning on purchasing drugs from Thompson referred to as “D” in police documents.

The second individual told police that she went with Mulhern to purchase the drugs.  The woman gave Mulhern $30 for three bags of heroin. Further investigation into Mulhern’s phone indicated that Mulhern was set to receive an extra baggie of drugs from Thompson for what he was paying, police said.

The second individual provided police with a baggie of the drugs she purchased, which later tested positive for fentanyl, court papers said.

Police said they suspected Thompson to be involved because of previous dealings with him.

Investigators set up a meeting with the Thompson to discretely purchase heroin. The defendant agreed and the bags of heroin matched the bags that came from the scene of Mulhern’s death, the criminal complaint stated.

An arrest warrant for Thompson was approved after video surveillance footage from Mulhern’s interaction with Thompson corroborated the second individual’s testimony to police, police said.

A search at the time of arrest turned up 106 bags similar to those at the scene of Mulhern’s death, police said.

An autopsy confirmed that Mulhern died from fentanyl toxicity, court papers stated.

Thompson’s bail was set at 10 percent of $500,000 and he was sent to county prison.

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.