Olean woman pleads guilty in heroin death

An Olean woman has pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide after she sold fentanyl laced heroin to a man, which caused his death. Chelsea Lyons, 27, also pleaded guilty to Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, class B felony, and Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, a misdemeanor, to satisfy three pending indictments. 42-year-old Matthew Harper died from the drugs. This is the first time a drug dealer has been charged in an overdose-related death in Cattaraugus County. Sentencing is scheduled for June 26, 2017. District Attorney Lori Rieman told the Times Herald “There aren’t very many convictions for criminally negligent homicide for someone who sold drugs to somebody. It’s very unusual in New York.” “We wanted to set a precedent. ... Hopefully, it sends out a message to drug dealers that we’re going to do what we can to stop this.”