Man who sold killer heroin sentenced to 25 years under new law

Sep. 27—An Indianapolis man has been sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison for selling fentanyl laced heroin that killed a Zionsville man.

Kurt M. Russell was the first person to be convicted in Boone County under a new law that holds drug dealers responsible for deaths caused by the drugs they sell. That law took effect in July 2018, and the only higher charge in Indiana is murder.

A Boone County jury in August unanimously found Russell, 52, guilty of dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, a level 1 felony. The sentence range for a level 1 felony is 20 to 40 years and up to a $10,000 fine.

Boone Superior Court I Judge Matthew Kincaid sentenced him Monday.

Russell delivered heroin that was cut with fentanyl to Maxwell Timbrook, 28, in January 2020. Timbrook was a U.S. Air Force A-10 Crew Chief and graduated from Covenant Christian High School in 2009, according to his Facebook page. He and Russell worked together at Costco, 9010 Michigan Road, Indianapolis, police reported.

An autopsy concluded that Timbrook's death was a result of acute drug intoxication and the high level of fentanyl in Timbrook's system contributed to that death.

"Far too often the narrative surrounding illegal drug cases is that they are non-violent, victimless crimes," Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood said. "This narrative must stop. Just ask Maxwell Timbrook's family and friends if illegal drug cases are victimless crimes. In reality, much of the crime prosecutors see on a daily basis is directly tied to illegal drug use."

The prosecuting team was led by Narcotics Prosecutor Conrad Schrock, co-counsel Major Felony, Prosecutor TK Morris and Zionsville Police Detective Sgt. Josh Samuelson.

Schrock thanked jury members for their service and the Zionsville Police Department for its partnership in obtaining this important verdict after the trial.

"It is time that the criminal justice system begins to hold drug dealers accountable for the devastation that they inflict," Eastwood said. "We hope this verdict and sentence will help begin to send that message."

Second case

Eastwood's office filed a similar case against another Indianapolis man in October.

Andre Johnson, 43, faces two counts of dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death after the fentanyl overdose deaths of Russell Ervin, 34, and Wesley Johnson, 28.

He was serving probation for previous drug crimes when he was charged in the men's deaths. He had pleaded guilty to dealing in a narcotic drug, a level 4 felony, in February 2020, just eight months before the men's deaths.

The prosecutor's office advocated for a five-year sentence with the Indiana Department of Correction. Kincaid sentenced him to five years with the Indiana Department of Correction but suspended the prison time in favor of probation.

Ervin had lived in Lebanon. His father found him dead in his room when he attempted to wake him to go hunting, police reported, adding that he was still holding a syringe in his right hand.

Wesley Johnson's sister found his body, a syringe in the sink nearby, in the bathroom of his Thorntown home, police reported. Johnson had completed drug rehabilitation and had maintained sobriety for months.

Andre Johnson's previous convictions also include possession of cocaine in 1996 in Marion County; child molesting in 2001 in Marion County; and dealing in a narcotic drug or cocaine and possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon in 2005 in Marion County.

Underused law

"We're hoping to get more agencies across the state to make these cases a priority, like a murder case would be," Eastwood said Wednesday.