Sentence In Sale Of Heroin That Led To OD Death

GOSHEN, NY — An Orange County man was sentenced May 8 in connection with the selling of heroin to someone who died as the result of a possible drug overdose. Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler said Jay Pagan, 32, of Maybrook, was sentenced to eight years in state prison, followed by three years post-release supervision.

Pagan pleaded guilty March 22 to third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Hoovler said Pagan sold heroin to a 24-year-old Maybrook woman who died of a possible drug overdose Jan. 26.

At the time that he pleaded guilty, Pagan admitted he had sold heroin to the woman at his Maybrook residence. Prosecutors said, when he admitted his guilt, that they would recommend the eight-year sentence.

Hoovler said Pagan deserved the sentence that was recommended and imposed.

“Drug dealers who sell narcotics that result in someone’s death from an overdose must be held accountable for their actions,” he said. “The opioid crises continues to claim far to many lives.”

There were 88 suspected overdose fatalities in Orange County in 2017, Hoovler said.

He said his office will continue to prosecute people who sell dangerous and frequently lethal narcotics.

“While we continue to recommend treatment for many offenders who are addicted to narcotics, reducing the supply of narcotics by imposing meaningful state prison sentences on narcotics traffickers is necessary part of the solution to this epidemic,” Hoovler said.

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