Alleged drug dealer bound over for causing woman’s death

LISBON -- Rubin L. Williams, a 37-year-old Youngstown area man charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2016 overdose death of a Salem woman, was bound over to the Columbiana County grand jury following a preliminary hearing on Thursday.

A charge of involuntary manslaughter for an overdose death is a case unprecedented in Columbiana County.

In a hearing before Columbiana County Municipal Court Judge Mark Frost, Salem Detective David Talbert talked about the overdose death of Jennifer Bettis, which he investigated after she was found by her roommate, Casey Bailey, on the morning of Oct. 15.

Bettis had been babysitting for Bailey, who had plans for the night of Oct. 14 and became concerned when she tried to call Bettis about 13 times without a response.

Talbert said Bettis was found in their North Ellsworth Avenue duplex apartment seated at her kitchen table with her head back, track marks on her arms, an uncapped syringe on the table, a lighter, spoon and a "stamp," a folded up piece of paper containing a pinkish-purplish powder which later tested positive for fentanyl.

He testified there were no signs of any physical abuse and the coroner ruled the death due to asphyxia from a mixed drug overdose.

Talbert also talked about the investigation, which included learning Bettis had asked her estranged husband for $40 for gas and cigarettes, but had not shown up that evening at a family event.

Messages from Bettis' cell phone reportedly led Talbert and investigators to messages to someone using a derivative of the name of a Disney character, Scrooge McDuck, as his facebook name. The man was found to also go by the names of Red or Rubin Williams.

Besides Talbert, Chief Assistant County Prosecutor John Gamble also brought Nicole Mitchell to the stand. Mitchell admitted she is a heroin user and got some of her drugs from Williams. She also would run drugs for him, sometimes in exchange for a little bit of drugs for herself, enough to keep her from getting sick.

Mitchell testified Williams and his girlfriend, Ursula Lewis, were staying at her house in Boardman along with Mitchell's boyfriend at the time, Craig Stevens. She said Williams asked her to take some heroin to Bettis and collect $40 from her for it. Through Facebook Messenger, Williams reportedly sent her the address, which she put into her GPS because she was unfamiliar with Bettis. Mitchell said Bettis met her behind the home and they exchanged the heroin for the money at about 5 p.m. Oct. 14.

Mitchell testified in the next day or two she learned the woman had overdosed when Red called her boyfriend, Stevens. Mitchell described the call from Williams as "panicky" and he had explained there was going to be a problem because the woman had overdosed from the drugs they had provided her.

Throughout the hearing, defense attorney Paul Conn objected several times. During one of those times, Mitchell was testifying about how she had blacked out around the same time from using the heroin Williams had given her. She said the heroin was more pink. Gamble asked her what color heroin usually is, which drew the objection from Conn, who claimed Mitchell was not an expert. Gamble responded, "Oh, I believe she's an expert."

Mitchell said most of the heroin she has used has been some form of brown or gray, but she described the heroin which she believed nearly caused her to overdose around the same time as pink.

Mitchell also testified some to her background as a heroin addict. She said sometime after Bettis overdosed, Mitchell was involved in an accident while under the influence of drugs. She had driven her friend to a store so they could steal merchandise and after they left they saw police. While fleeing from police in the Boardman area, Mitchell said she crashed. The accident killed her friend and led Mitchell to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter, OVI and failure to comply. She was sentenced in Mahoning County court to four years and nine months in prison.

When questioned, Mitchell denied she has been offered anything in exchange for her testimony in this case.

In his closing remarks, Gamble said the drugs sold to Bettis was a felony offense and it led directly to her death, making Williams responsible for it.

Conn disagreed, claiming the prosecution had provided only limited evidence, mostly from documents, and did not even provide the actual coroner's testimony. Gamble and Conn argued whether the supplement to the death certificate qualifies as an actual death certificate.

Frost ruled that selling drugs like heroin and fentanyl is a felony offense in Ohio and while he believes what he heard was "far short of proof beyond a reasonable doubt," he believed there is probable cause to believe the case should be bound over to the grand jury.

Some of Bettis' family members in the courtroom erupted in celebration.

The two attorneys also argued bond. Gamble asked for no bond, while Conn argued Williams is already serving a three-year sentence in an unrelated felony case and is not going anywhere.

"This is not the only time a tragedy of this nature has happened in this county in recent years," Frost said, setting the bond at $1 million cash or surety, which drew additional happy celebrations from the Bettis family.

djohnson@mojonews.com