Three people have been charged after the drug overdose death of a woman.
Ryan Shields, 39, of Falls Township, Patric Hish, 33, of Brookhaven, Delaware County, and Francis Nungesser, 43, of Falls Township, were charged with drug delivery resulting in death; manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance; criminal use of a communication facility; involuntary manslaughter; and recklessly endangering another person. The defendants were charged this week and earlier this month.
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Shields was held on 10 percent of $4 million bail, Nungesser was held on 10 percent of $3 million bail, and Hish was released on $50,000 unsecured, according to court records.
In a detailed affidavit of probable cause, an investigator from the Bucks County Detectives Drug Strike Force laid out the probe that led to the arrests.
On August 11, 2020 at 9:36 p.m., Falls Township police were dispatched to the home of Ryan and Amanda Shields in the 800 block of Trenton Road. The 40-year-old woman was found dead in the residence.
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It was determined Shields took what appeared to be a Percocet pill, but it was really a fentanyl pill disguised as a Percocet pill, authorities said.
An autopsy of Amanda Shields found she died from fentanyl, ethanol, and alprazolam toxicity, court papers stated.
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Following Amanda Shields’ death, Ryan Shields broke down to Falls Township and Bucks County detectives when asked about his wife’s passing.
“I shouldn’t have given it to her,” he allegedly said of the pill. “It didn’t feel right. Something was off. It looked strong.”
Amanda Shields previously had drug issues in the past but had been clean from heroin for 11 years, a neighbor told police.
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A second neighbor told police Ryan Shields informed him he gave Amanda Shields a Percocet pill before her death to help her “calm down.”
One of the neighbors reported buying two pills from Ryan Shields before Amanda Shields death. He reported taking half of a pill and becoming very intoxicated. He“believed he was going to die from ingesting the pill,” authorities said.
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The pill, according to the neighbor, was the same shape, size, and color as a 30mg Percocet pill.
Ryan Shields is accused of getting 10 suspect fentanyl pills from his supplier, Hish, who had been living in Yardley at the time, before his wife’s death. Hish had received the pills from Nungesser, authorities said.
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Hish reportedly told detectives he believed the pills to be Percocet and had complained to Nungesser that previous pills were not strong enough.
The investigation ran since Amanda Shields’ death until earlier this month and involved interviews and an extensive review of electronic records, according to court papers.
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