Akron man pleads guilty to criminally negligent homicide in overdose death

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 July 2021 at 1:36 pm

ALBION – An Akron man pleaded guilty in Orleans County Curt today to criminally negligent homicide for his role in a fatal drug overdose of a Medina woman in March 2020.

Anthony V. Abraham, 33, admitted in court to taking the Medina woman to Rochester to get cocaine. He had told the woman’s family they were going out to dinner.

The woman, 26, was recovering from injuries from a serious automobile accident and was staying with her grandmother in Medina while recuperating. She also had some level of brain damage from the auto accident, said District Attorney Joe Cardone.

The cocaine was laced with fentanyl. The Medina woman would suffer a fatal overdose at her grandmother’s home.

Although an unintentional death, Cardone said Abraham clearly facilitated her access to the drugs and the use of the cocaine with fentanyl.

With criminally negligent homicide, a person has a “gross deviation” from the standard level of care by a reasonable person, causing substantial and justifiable risk to another person, said Orleans County Court Judge Sanford Church.

Abraham pleaded guilty and will face a maximum of six months in jail and up to five years on probation when he is sentenced on Sept. 29. If Abraham violates terms of probation, he could be sent to state prison for 1 1/3 to 4 years.

In another case in County Court today, a Batavia man pleaded guilty to attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree.

Johnny Sponaugle, 45, admitted to selling cocaine to an informant from Orleans County on Aug. 5, 2019. Sponaugle said he provided the cocaine while meeting the informant at the Burger King in Batavia.

As part of a plea agreement, he will face a maximum of 2 years in state prison, plus one year of post-release supervision when he is sentenced on Sept. 29. If he went to trial, he risked being found guilty and being sentenced to up to 5 ½ years in prison.