Recovery trumps jail for former Greensburg man in fatal overdose case
Jun. 4—An Indiana County man's recovery from drug addiction won praise from a Westmoreland judge who sentenced him Friday to serve seven years on probation for his role in his girlfriend's overdose death in her Greensburg apartment two years ago.
In rejecting a recommended sentence of up to 13 years in prison, Judge Christopher Feliciani said he believed incarceration of Julian V. Cancro would be counterproductive and compared him to the director of the county's drug overdose task force for his efforts to turn his life around and help others in recovery.
"I think you probably are the early makings of Tim Phillips in our county. You can certainly step in for him when he retires," Feliciani said. Phillips, a recovered addict, has for years led the county's efforts to reduce fatal drug overdoses and has been a member of the local drug court staff. Feliciani and Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio preside over drug court.
Cancro, 38, now of Indiana, pleaded guilty to one count of drug delivery resulting in death. Police said he and another man drove to Wilkinsburg to buy fentanyl-laced heroin he gave to Darice Franke, 48. According to court records, Cancro claimed he found Franke unresponsive in her home on Aug. 29, 2019. She died a day later at the hospital.
Police said Cancro cooperated with the investigation into Franke's death.
In court Friday, Cancro said he was disappointed with himself but added that, over the last two years, he completed multiple drug rehabilitation programs. He now volunteers at a recovery center in Indiana, where he serves as a house manager.
"It is in my best interest," Cancro said of his decision to plead guilty. "I am just disappointed in myself."
Phillips testified on Cancro's behalf during Friday's hearing and told the judge he believed a prison sentence would negatively impact his recovery.
"He has been an example for other folks in the recovery community," Philips said.
As part of the probation sentence, the judge ordered Cancro to serve three years on house arrest and perform 200 hours of community service. The house arrest can be reduced to 18 months if other sentencing conditions are met, Feliciani said.
Assistant District Attorney Mike Pacek said state sentencing guidelines called for Cancro to serve 6-1/2 to 13 years in prison.
Pacek agreed to dismiss one drug delivery resulting in death charge against Matthew Caughey, who police said went with Cancro to buy the drugs. Caughey, 46, of Youngwood pleaded guilty to two drug possession counts.
"The evidence against Mr. Cancro was very strong," Pacek said. "We couldn't link Caughey with the actual distribution of the drugs that killed the victim in the case."
Caughey was sentenced to serve 6 months to a year behind bars and a consecutive jail term of 3 months to 11 1/2 months. He was immediately paroled after being given credit for the more than 450 days he spent incarcerated after his arrest.
"He never met Ms. Franke, never had any contact with her, and we could prove that to a certainty," said Richard Galloway, Caughey's defense lawyer.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293, rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
