Boston man facing manslaughter charge following suspected overdose death

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021 — A Boston man is facing second-degree manslaughter and drug charges after a police investigation of a possible death cause by a drug overdose on Sunday.

According to the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, on Sunday deputies were dispatched to an address on Nat Rogers Road in regard to a 23-year-old man who was found dead in a vehicle. An autopsy is pending to confirm the cause of death, but investigators believe the man died of a heroin overdose.

The investigator led police to obtain a search warrant for a home on Nelsonville Road. Police took Wesley Stephen Heintz, 27, into custody for questioning. He was later arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter; trafficking a controlled substance (heroin); trafficking in marijuana (less than 8 ounces), and possession of drug paraphernalia.

A person is guilty of manslaughter in the second degree when, with criminal negligence, he or she causes the death of another person. It also includes the distribution or sale of a controlled substance that is determined to be the cause of an individual’s death. Second-degree manslaughter is a Class C felony, and if convicted, punishable by 5 to 10 years in prison.

Heintz was booked into the Nelson County Jail 3:35 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

NCSO Detective Philip Dean is conducting the investigation.

-30-