NORWICH – A 22-year-old sits in the Chenango County Correctional Facility on drug charges following an unattended death investigation that began last week.
Stephen A. Reilly, of Norwich, was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony and was arrested Thursday by the Narcotics Division of the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation began, according to authorities, on Aug. 5, 2015, in the Town of Plymouth when members of the CCSO investigated an unattended death.
According to CCSO Lieutenant Richard Cobb, an unattended death is "any death not attended by a physician or hospice."
During said investigation, packets of heroin were said to have been recovered from the scene.
It is alleged that Reilly, on Aug. 3, 2015, sold ten packets of heroin in the Town of Plymouth to the now-deceased victim.
Ten packets of heroin is referred to on the streets as a “bundle,” said authorities. A bundle is said to weigh approximately one gram.
“There is an investigation that is continuing,” said Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride. “There was obviously a lot of hard police work that led to the charges yesterday, and a lot of hard police work investigating other issues that may be out there.”
Reilly was arraigned in the Town of North Norwich Court and remanded to the CCCF in lieu of $30,000 bail. He is to reappear at a later date.
Reilly is entitled to a felony hearing usually within seven days of his arrest. It is up to Reilly and his attorney as to whether the hearing will be held or waived. As of press time, no date for the hearing has been set.
“Heroin continues to be a scourge in our community,” said McBride. “And people have to be aware that there will always be life and death consequences … We not only destroy a life, we destroy a family, and slowly we destroy our community.”