Thursday, August 28th, 2008
Celina woman enters guilty plea
By Margie Wuebker
A Celina woman tearfully pleaded guilty Wednesday morning in Mercer County Common Pleas Court to charges stemming from the drug-related death of a friend.
Teresa A. Drew, 49, 1141/2 W. Anthony St., entered the plea to one count of corrupting another with drugs, as part of a negotiated agreement with sentencing set for Sept. 17.
Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Matt Fox requested that other charges in the indictment - permitting drug abuse, reckless homicide and two counts of involuntary manslaughter - be dismissed. However, he reserved the right to argue at the time of sentencing.
Celina Police responded to Drew's former Bruns Avenue apartment May 9, 2007, on reports of an unresponsive man. They subsequently determined 48-year-old Donald M. Andrews of St. Marys had been dead for sometime.
Drew told police she last saw Andrews snoring as he sat on the bathroom floor around 3 a.m. Efforts to rouse him at that time proved unsuccessful so she apparently went to bed.
An autopsy was conducted at the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab in Dayton, where toxicology tests indicated the presence of several drugs including the prescription drug Fentanyl.
Andrews, who reportedly resided with Drew at the time, used Fentanyl patches that had been prescribed for her.
"He had a drug problem and she failed to secure the patches properly," Fox said. "His use led to death."
The fifth-degree felony carries the possibility of up to 12 months in prison and a $2,500 fine.
