Lockport man charged with manslaughter in fatal overdose of a Medina man
James O. White
MEDINA – A Lockport man was charged on Tuesday with manslaughter for allegedly providing the drugs in a fatal overdose of a Medina man.
Police arrested James O. White, 27, of Porter Street and charged him with one count of manslaughter in the second degree (a Class C felony) and two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree (Class B felonies).
The charges follow a lengthy investigation by the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force, with assistance by the Medina Police Department and the Niagara County Drug Task Force.
White allegedly provided a lethal combination of heroin and fentanyl to Wade Sargent who died on March 25, 2017. Sargent, who was 22 at the time, was found unresponsive at a residence in the village of Medina.
Investigators processed evidence located at the scene including baggies containing a powdery substance which were submitted to and analyzed by the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department Forensic Laboratory and found to contain heroin and fentanyl, the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force said today.
A forensic examination was completed on Sargent’s cellphone by the Task Force and numerous text messages were recovered connecting White to the death of Wade Sargent, the Task Force said.
White was arraigned in the Shelby Town Court by Town Justice Dawn Keppler, who committed White to the Orleans County Jail on $100,000 cash bail or $200,000 bond. White is to return to the Shelby Town Court on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Further arrests and charges are pending in this investigation, said Joe Sacco, supervising investigator for the Task Force.
