Overdose Death Leads To State Prison For Lower Bucks Man

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —A Tullytown man has been sentenced to state prison for providing the drugs that led to a woman’s overdose death in Falls Township in November 2021, authorities said.

Steven Frederick Yard Jr., 32, pleaded guilty in January to charges of involuntary manslaughter, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, recklessly endangering another person, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

On Monday, Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Gary B. Gilman sentenced Yard to 2 ½ years to 6 years in state prison, followed by two years of probation, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

The investigation began on Nov. 16, 2021, when Falls Township police responded to an overdose call at 100 Yardley Ave.

There, police located Mary Coyle, 39, deceased on a bed, and Steven Yard actively overdosing on the floor in the same bedroom.

The investigation revealed that Yard drove to the Kensington section of Philadelphia and purchased 12 bags of heroin for himself and Coyle.

Yard and Coyle both used heroin at the Yardley Avenue residence.

Yard woke up to find Coyle deceased in the bed, so he rolled her on her back and began to perform CPR.

Yard did another bag of heroin and discarded several bags of heroin under a couch in the room when police arrived.

During the investigation, police seized a dollar bill used to snort drugs, along with three empty blue-colored wax paper bags, commonly used to package heroin.

Under a couch, police located six more wax paper bags, these containing suspected heroin/fentanyl.

The deputy coroner located three more wax bags containing suspected heroin/fentanyl in the robe Coyle was wearing.

An autopsy later concluded that Coyle died of acute fentanyl intoxication and lab results indicated that all the contents of the wax paper bags tested positive for fentanyl.

The dollar bill tested positive for the presence of cocaine.

The case was investigated by The Falls Township Police Department, led by Detective Stephen Reeves.