VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) – The cases against two men charged in connection with a drug overdose death that occurred last year in Emlenton were transferred to common pleas court on Wednesday morning.

According to court documents, the cases against 46-year-old Shane Waco Beachem, of New Castle, and 32-year-old  Harrison William Daniels, of Valencia, were transferred to Venango County Court of Common Pleas during a preliminary hearing at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 9

Both men have been charged with the following offenses:

• Drug Delivery Resulting In Death, Felony 1
• Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession With Intent to Manufacture or Deliver, Felony 1
• Corrupt Organizations – Employee, Felony 1
• Conspiracy To Violate 911b1, 911b2, 911b3, Felony 1
• Conspiracy – Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession With Intent to Manufacture or Deliver, Felony
• Criminal Use Of Communication Facility, Felony 3
• Involuntary Manslaughter, Misdemeanor 1
• Intentional Possession of Controlled Substance By Person Not Registered, Misdemeanor

The charges against Beachem were held for court, and Daniels’ charges were waived for court.

Both defendants are remain lodged in the Venango County Jail with Beachem’s bail set at $50,000.00 monetary and Daniels set at $15,000.00 (10%) monetary.

The charges were filed on February 28, 2022, by Emlenton Borough Police Department.

Details of the case:

July 14, 2021: First Suspect Arrested

Emlenton Police Department filed criminal charges against 34-year-old William Scott Raub, of Petrolia, Butler County, on July 14, 2021.

According to a criminal complaint, Chief O’Neil and Officer Swartzfager, of the Emlenton Police Department, on March 29, 2021, around 7:20 p.m., made contact with a known male they were searching for in reference to a prior incident.

A known female was present with the male and stated that she needed to go check on a female who was down on the floor in an apartment, the complaint notes.

While police were taking the man into custody, Emlenton Area Ambulance and Emlenton Volunteer Fire Department were dispatched to the apartment in question for a possible overdose.

The complaint states that while they were still dealing with the man, police were informed by Chief Hile, of the Emlenton Fire Department, that the Venango County Coroner would need to be contacted regarding the medical call.

EMS had discontinued care, and the female victim at the apartment was determined to be deceased. The coroner later arrived and confirmed the victim to be deceased, according to the complaint.

Police also contacted Franklin-based State Police for assistance at the scene.

Information received from the known woman (mentioned earlier) did not appear to be consistent with the timeline given to paramedics in regard to how long the victim had been down. In addition, the residence also appeared to have been “cleaned up,” according to EMS. It was also noted that the known female reportedly stated she didn’t know what the victim had taken, according to the complaint.

The residence was then secured while a search warrant was obtained.

According to the complaint, a later search led to the seizure of a clear plastic baggie with black panther print containing six blue glassine bags stamped “MONSTER” containing white powder which was later confirmed to contained fentanyl, tramadol, and fluorofentanyl, one empty blue glassine bag, two pieces of blue glassine bag, and one unopened “prep-pad” alcohol wipe.

Police also later obtained a Cricket LG cell phone belonging to the victim and extracted data from it.

A search of the phone discovered a conversation between the victim and William Raub on Facebook Messenger relating to the distribution of controlled substances, the complaint indicates.

On March 25, the victim reportedly messaged Raub that she needed help finding “H.” The conversation that followed indicated that Raub provided the victim with controlled substances. The messages continue on March 26 and 28, and on March 29, Raub messaged the victim to arrange to provide her with controlled substances. He then messaged her again around 3:23 p.m. stating that he was ten minutes away from Emlenton, according to the complaint.

On April 7, police obtained a search warrant for the memory card containing video surveillance from a nearby residence in Emlenton.

According to the complaint, the video footage obtained showed that Raub arrived at the residence where the victim was located around 3:59 p.m. on March 29. He then went inside briefly and left again at 4:12 p.m.

In the footage, the known woman (mentioned earlier) could be heard saying the victim’s name and then saying “(expletive)(victim) you awake?” the complaint notes.

On April 22, police also obtained a search warrant for Facebook account information and Facebook Messenger messages for “Willie Raub.”

A search of the messages subsequently found additional messages between Raub and other known individuals regarding the distribution of controlled substances, according to the complaint.

A full review of the messages found that Raub arranged, or attempted to arrange, the delivery of controlled substances to at least seven different people on 23 different occasions, during which he offered to sell or trade controlled substances for money or other controlled substances, according to the complaint.

Police also determined that at least five known and unknown individuals communicated and facilitated the delivery of controlled substances to the victim which caused her death, the complaint states.

The toxicology report from the victim also indicated she had fluorofentanyl in her system at a level approximately three times higher than a normal overdose ruling, the complaint notes.

Raub was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Patrick E. Lowrey at 6:05 p.m. on Wednesday, July 14, 2021, on the following charges:

– Drug Delivery Resulting In Death, Felony 1
– Corrupt Organizations – Employee, Felony 1
– Conspire To Violate 911b1, 911b2, 911b3, Felony 1
– Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession With Intent to Manufacture or Deliver, Felony (two counts)
– Criminal Use Of Communication Facility, Felony 3

In a negotiated plea, Raub pleaded guilty to one count of Drug Delivery Resulting In Death and one count of Criminal Use Of Communication Facility on August 31, 2021. All other charges were dropped.

On December 3, 2021, he was sentenced to serve a minimum of 86 months to a maximum of 216 months for the drug delivery charge and a minimum of 3 months to a maximum of 6 months for the criminal use of a communication facility charge.

The sentences will run concurrently.

June 14, 2021: Medical Examiner’s Report Reviewed

On June 14, 2021, Chief O’Neil spoke with Venango County Coroner Christina Rugh regarding the incident. Rugh confirmed that the medical examiner’s report indicated that the victim had fluorofentanyl in her system at a level approximately three times higher than a normal overdose ruling.

June 24, 2021: Facebook Conversations Obtained

On June 24, 2021, Chief O’Neil reviewed a Facebook messenger conversation between Raub and a known woman. The messages were provided by Facebook.

Records indicate that Raub communicated with the known woman and the victim during the same timeframe.

A transcript of the messages is provided below.

March 26 conversation:

Raub to Victim: “Hey u look again” (3/26/21 – 4:20 a.m.)
Victim to Raub: “I need more of that: (3/26/21 – 11:51 a.m.)
Raub to Victim: Messages victim and states he is going to pick up (the drugs) and discusses the price (3/26/21 – 12:31 p.m.)
Raub to Victim: “Yo I need to know what u want to do” (3/26/21 – 1:16 p.m.)
Raub to Known Woman: “Im looking” (3/26/21 – 1:16 p.m.)
*Messages continue between Raub and both women
Known Woman to Raub: “Well I got a hold of my one dude but Harrison would be going and its the monsters which are fire but he won’t do a whole one for $300” (3/26/21 – 1:33 p.m.)
*Raub arranges to pick up the controlled substances from the known woman and deliver them to the victim.
Raub to Known Woman: “Im Here” (3/26/21 – 2:59 p.m.)
Raub to Victim: “Just got to dude house” (3/26/21 – 3:03 p.m.)
*Messages continue until Raub calls the victim at 6:26 p.m.

March 29 Conversation:

Raub to Victim: “ok im going down today” (3/29/21 – 9:25 a.m.)
Victim to Raub: “I need some” (3/29/21 – 9:25 a.m.)
Raub to Victim: “how many u want” (3/29/21 – 9:25 a.m.)
*Messages continue as Raub and victim discuss details of the transaction
Raub to Victim: “okay I’ll be down in a lol bit get ur loot”
Raub to Known Woman: “How for 2 buns”
Known Woman to Raub: “160-180 depending on who we go through”
*Raub and Known Woman exchange phone calls
Raub to Known Woman: “green Honda”
Known Woman to Raub: “k”
*Victim messages Raub and asks where he is
Raub to Victim: “Yo im 10 minutes from Emlenton. Meet with you soon.” (3/29/21 at 3:23 p.m.)

July 19, 2021: Eric Vey

On July 19, 2021, Dr. Eric Vey, Forensic Pathologist for the Erie County Coroner’s Office, issued an opinion regarding the autopsy of the victim in which he concluded that she died as a result of drug toxicity from fentanyl compounds.

September 3, 2021: Investigators Interview Known Woman

On September 3, 2021, Clarion County Chief Detective Bill Peck and Chief O’Neil interviewed the known woman. The woman admitted to speaking with Raub via Facebook messenger and arranging the delivery of controlled substances.

The criminal complaint indicates that Raub and another known male traveled to Butler where they picked up the known woman and Harrison Daniels. They then traveled to the Chicora area and dropped Daniels off at Shane Beachem’s residence. Daniels later gave the controlled substances to Raub and the known male. Daniels and the known woman were dropped off in Butler while Raub and the known male returned to Emlenton.

September 3, 2021: Investigators Interview Daniels

During a September 3, 2021, interview with Chief Detective Peck and Chief O’Neil, Daniels confirmed the details provided by the known woman. Daniels told investigators that he contacted Beachem using his cell phone. When asked about the messages or call logs, Daniels stated that he no longer had them in his phone.

Investigators then spoke with a Pennsylvania State Police trooper who indicated that a search warrant had been served on Beachem’s residence on April 9, 2021. Thirty-four blue stamp bags marked “MONSTER” were found in Beachem’s bedroom during the search. Lab reports confirmed the bags contained fentanyl, tramadol, and fluorofentanyl.

A search warrant was subsequently obtained for phone records for both Beachem and Daniels. Call logs from both phones confirmed Daniels called Beachem approximately 160 times between March 1, 2021, and April 9, 2021, including approximately 10 times on March 29 – the date that Daniels allegedly went to Beachem’s residence to purchase controlled substances.

February 28, 2022: Daniels and Beachem Arrested

Daniels and Beachem were arraigned on February 28, 2022, by Magisterial District Judge Matthew T. Kirtland before being lodged in the Venango County Jail.

Charges Filed Against Three Women in Connection with OD Death on March 7, 2022

Three women are facing charges in connection with a March 2021 overdose death investigation, bringing the total number of defendants charged in the case to six.

Emlenton Borough Police Department filed charges against Amber Nicole Keebler, 33, of Pittsburgh, Bryanna Leon Bowser, 26, of Emlenton, and Jolena Elizabeth Bowser, 43, of Parker, on Monday, March 7, 2022.

Keebler faces the following charges:

Drug Delivery Resulting In Death, Felony 1
Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession With Intent to Manufacture or Deliver, Felony 1 (2 counts)
Corrupt Organizations – Employee, Felony 1
Conspiracy To Violate 911b1, 911b2, 911b3, Felony 1
Criminal Use Of Communication Facility, Felony 3
Involuntary Manslaughter, Misdemeanor 1
Intentional Possession of Controlled Substance By Person Not Registered, Misdemeanor

Bryanna Bowser faces the following charges:

Use/Poss Of Drug Paraphernalia, Misdemeanor (3 counts)

Jolena Elizabeth Bowser faces the following charges:

Tamper With/Fabricate Physical Evidence, Misdemeanor 2
Obstruct Admin. Law/Other Government Function, Misdemeanor 2

The charges were filed at Venango County District Magistrate Patrick Lowrey’s office.