Homicide trial ends with a hung jury

Published 1:48 pm Monday, June 17, 2024

SOUTH BEND — A controlled substance homicide trial ended with a hung jury in a case that tested the waters of how responsible alleged drug peddlers are in an overdose death. The jury deliberated for the better part of Wednesday, June 12, before being deadlocked.

Samantha R. Vineyard-Howard (Hess), 31, of Raymond, faces charges of controlled substance homicide and first-degree manslaughter for the overdose death of Ryan O’Connor on March 21, 2023.

The trial was rocky from the start. Hess showed up two consecutive days late, which resulted in Judge Donald J. Richter ordering her to be immediately taken into custody. The order required her to be held pending the outcome of her trial.

Hess also dozed off several times during the trial and was asked at least once by Richter if she needed “medical attention.”

Facts of the case

Hess and Tristan Lund, 28, were accused of selling O’Connor fentanyl on March 20, 2023, which resulted in his death the following day. The duo reportedly had sold O’Connor the substance before and educated him on using the drug, including keeping Narcan on hand.

The trial was emotional, including testimony from witnesses who located him inside his room at 518 7th Street in Raymond. O’Connor’s family hadn’t seen him all day, and his grandmother, who owned the home, asked relatives to check on him.

“She said she hadn’t seen Ryan, so she asked if we would go upstairs and see if he was up there,” his Aunt Carolyn Johnson said during her testimony at the trial. “We saw Ryan bent over the bed, deceased. I called 911. [Debra Charneski] was trying to touch him and see if he was alive, and he wasn’t. He was cold. I was on with dispatch.”

Responders from the Raymond Police Department and South Bend Police Department, along with the Raymond Fire Department, responded to the scene and pronounced O’Connor deceased.

Facebook Messenger messages and call records played a pivotal role in the case and detailed messages between O’Connor and another individual, “Zachary Kaech,” regarding fentanyl powder making its way into the area and for sale.

Evidence pointed to Hess and Lund as drug peddlers and messages between Hess and O’Connor on Messenger were deleted. It’s a common thought among alleged criminals that simply deleting a text or messenger message erases it. However, cell service providers retain all the messages, which are obtainable through search warrants.

Lund quickly struck a deal with the Pacific County Prosecutor’s Office for four counts of delivery of a controlled substance and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 84 months in prison with concurrent sentences of 40 months and 20 months.

The defense

In Hess’ trial, only one of the charges could have stuck if she had been convicted. Prosecutors routinely amend the charges at trial to include a lesser charge for juries to consider if they were up in the air about the primary charge.

Defense attorney Ruth Rivas painted a picture of O’Connor, who had battled mental illness and substance use the majority of his life. Rivas related the belief that O’Connor may have been off medication, which exacerbated his dive back into drug use — after months of sobriety.

Controlled substance homicide has been a toss-up among juries who often weigh whether it is the alleged drug peddler or user who is more at fault. Some believe if drugs weren’t available to users, then there would be no way for them to use them, and others blame a lack of self-responsibility for an individual’s drug-related demise.

Following Richter’s declaration of a mistrial, Pacific County Prosecutor Michael Rothman spoke with O’Connor’s family and vowed to see the case tried again, already set for Aug. 19.

Hess is currently out on $60,000 bail.