On Oct. 30, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced the arrest of Atglen resident Robert Patterson, 22, for drug dealing resulting in death.

The defendant delivered heroin to a Parkesburg man, who overdosed and died in January. The arrest was the second  in October for drug delivery resulting in death in Chester County.

According to the criminal complaint, on Jan. 16, 2014, police and emergency personnel responded to a home in the 6000 block of Limeville Road in Parkesburg. They found a 23-year-old man dead and recovered six blue bags that contained suspected heroin, empty blue bags indicative of heroin, syringes, and a silver spoon. The results of a forensic autopsy and toxicology screening determined that the victim died from a heroin overdose.

The investigation revealed wht on Jan. 15, the victim met with Patterson at the intersection of Leike Road and Blackhorse Road in West Sadsbury Township. He bought the heroin, returned home, used it, and died.

Chester County Detectives interviewed several witnesses to establish that Patterson had sold the heroin to the victim. Patterson's own electronic communications included, “I will admit ima [expletive] piece of [expletive] for selling that stuff,” and “I should be in jail for being such a piece of [expletive] nd i will never forgive myself.”

Patterson, however, continued to sell heroin to other people. He was arrested in California by federal authorities and will be extradited to Pennsylvania.

District Attorney Hogan said, “Chester County law enforcement is fighting the scourge of heroin with every tool we have. … We will fight to protect our children. This defendant discovered that dealing heroin in Chester County results in a ticket to prison. And this case is a grim reminder that using heroin anywhere can result in a one-way ticket to your death.”

The Chester County Detectives were assisted in the investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency and the West Sadsbury Police Department.