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Monessen man who allegedly sold fatal heroin dose detained in federal prison

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A Monessen man accused of selling a fatal dose of heroin to a woman this summer is a flight risk and a danger to the community and should be detained, federal prosecutors said in court paperwork.

Delmar J. Pritchett, 29, was ordered temporarily held in federal custody this week. He is accused of providing the heroin that led to the June 15 overdose death of Tamara Hall of Monessen. Federal prosecutors said Pritchett admitted to giving Hall the bags to sell on consignment for him, but said he did not know she used the drug.

Authorities said heroin found in Pritchett’s home, stamped with the name “Vick’s Vapo Rub,” is suspected of causing overdose deaths on Aug. 2 in Charleroi in Washington County and Aug. 7 in Apollo in Westmoreland County and non-fatal overdoses on Aug. 9 in Grindstone in Fayette County and Aug. 14 in Monessen in Westmoreland County.

Police said Pritchett used a specific “double wrap” method to package heroin, putting a stamp bag into a small sealed bag to sell the drugs.

The federal indictment, unsealed this week, charges him with conspiracy to possess with the intent to deliver heroin from June 15 to Aug. 22, distribution of heroin and possession of heroin.

The investigation into Pritchett started after Hill’s death, according to court paperwork. Police seized her cellphone and 49 stamp bags packaged in the double wrap method, they said. A forensic examination of the phone showed she was in contact with Pritchett on the day she died, and video surveillance showed her at his South 14th Street home in Monessen.

A woman who went there with Hill told authorities she saw Hill tucking a brick of heroin into her waistband after a brief meeting with Pritchett, according to the complaint.

A confidential informant working with the DEA conducted two subsequent controlled buys with Pritchett, according to court paperwork, and police executed a warrant at his home on Aug. 22.

There, authorities said they found 1,634 stamp bags of suspected heroin and/or heroin and fentanyl.

The bulk had the Vick’s stamp, court paperwork indicated.

After he was taken into custody, Pritchett reportedly told police he was unemployed and had been selling drugs for eight to nine months. He told police he gave Hill the drugs to sell “on the front,” meaning she was to sell them and return a share of the proceeds to him, the complaint contended. He said he learned she died when her sister called him, police said.

The request for detention indicated that prosecutors do not believe a condition or combination of conditions would assure the community’s safety if Pritchett is granted bond. Federal prosecutors also contended he is a flight risk.

A federal public defender has been appointed to represent Pritchett.

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