SMETHPORT — A Bradford woman who is accused of giving a fatal dose of fentanyl to a Driftwood man has asked for a jury trial.
Amber M. McKinney, 36, appeared Thursday in McKean County Court before President Judge John Pavlock.
McKinney faces 14 charges including drug delivery resulting in death, involuntary manslaughter, possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance, tampering with evidence, recklessly endangering another person and possession of a controlled substance, court records indicated.
District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer said she and Public Defender Philip Clabaugh had negotiated a “flexible” plea deal that included the basic understanding that McKinney would plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter, possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance and possibly tampering with evidence.
The sentence in the agreement would be for three to seven years in state prison, Shaffer said.
McKinney did not accept the agreement, instead asking that the case go to trial.
Shaffer asked that the trial be scheduled for three days. Because there are “so many moving parts” to get in order for trial, she requested that it be scheduled in February.
Pavlock told court staff to aim to have dates for three-day trial in February ready by the time the group meets for a pretrial conference at 2:45 p.m. Nov. 16.
Roberto H. Perez, 56, is also facing delivery charges in the death of 25-year-old Derek Clay from Driftwood.
Testimony at Perez’s preliminary hearing in July indicated that McKinney was purchasing fentanyl patches from Perez; she would then allegedly share the patches with people including Clay, who she was dating at the time.
McKinney and Clay allegedly chewed a fentanyl patch she purchased from Perez sometime in the late hours of Oct. 13, 2016, into the early hours of Oct. 14, 2016; they fell asleep on the couch, and McKinney woke up to find Clay dead, testimony indicated.
Frantic, McKinney allegedly called an acquaintance for help moving the body somewhere else, such as Clay’s car, but the acquaintance instead called 911, according to testimony.
Perez is scheduled for a last day to plea conference on Nov. 30 in McKean County Court.
He and McKinney are each incarcerated in lieu of $500,000 bail in the case. McKinney is also serving an incarceration sentence for a previous criminal conviction.
