Man Charged in Connection With Overdose Death in Emlenton Due in Court on Wednesday

Aly Delp

Aly Delp

Published July 26, 2021 4:24 am
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VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) — A hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday for a Butler County man charged in connection with a drug overdose death that occurred in Emlenton earlier this year.

Court documents indicate 34-year-old William Scott Raub, of Petrolia, Butler County, is scheduled to stand for a preliminary hearing in Venango County Central Court at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 28.

He faces 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)
– Conspiracy — Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession With Intent to Manufacture or Deliver, Felony
– Criminal Use Of Communication Facility, Felony 3 (23 counts)
– Involuntary Manslaughter, Misdemeanor 1
– Possession of Controlled Substance, Misdemeanor

He is currently lodged in the Venango County Jail with bail denied. The bail action reason is listed as “Defendant will not comply with conditions of bail.”

The charges stem from an overdose death that occurred in Emlenton in late March.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint, Chief O’Neil and Officer Swartzfager, of the Emlenton Police Department, on March 29 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 that 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.

No additional information was released on the five other individuals who police say communicated and facilitated the delivery of controlled substances to the victim which caused her death.

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