Mar 11, 2022 3 min read

A Washington man facing charges that he helped to deliver a deadly batch of fentanyl that killed a husband and wife last February rejected a plea deal “gift” and will instead head to trial on a multitude of charges in several drug cases.

Lorenzo Brian Lloyd was offered a 5- to- 10-year prison sentence by prosecutors in order to plead guilty to the two drug delivery resulting in death charges and various other drug counts, but he decided he’d rather take the case to trial, much to the chagrin of his attorney.

“I implore you to reconsider after my reading of the file,” defense attorney James Jeffries said during Lloyd’s court appearance Thursday afternoon. “This is a gift, Mr. Lloyd. Please don’t do this to yourself. You’re really going to harm yourself.”

Lloyd, 35, could face a significantly longer sentence – possibly decades in prison – if convicted on the laundry list of drugs charges in several cases. He has been in jail on $500,000 cash bond since July and would have been given credit for time served with the plea deal.

Lloyd is one of three men accused of helping to supply stamp bags of fentanyl to David and Nannette Dennick, who were found dead inside their Canton Township home Feb. 27, 2021. Mitchell William Logan, 29, of Washington, and Zaeshown Jaheim Kimbrew, 20, of Aliquippa, also are charged in the case.

State police said Nannette Dennick contacted Logan about purchasing heroin hours before the couple’s death and she drove with him to West Maiden Street, where stamp bags were allegedly purchased by Lloyd from Kimbrew. While she apparently had expected to purchase heroin, the bags contained only fentanyl, police said.

During his plea hearing Thursday in the Washington County Courthouse, Lloyd said he was hoping for a lighter sentence with the understanding he would continue cooperating with investigators.

“This is my first time I’ve been in trouble,” Lloyd said, adding his mother died Tuesday. “It’s just really hard for me right now.”

Jeffries said he has had multiple discussions with Lloyd and explained the plea deal and what he could be facing at trial.

Deputy District Attorney John Friedmann admitted Lloyd has been cooperating with state police in their investigation into the couple’s deaths, but that would not necessarily help him if he chose to go to trial. Friedmann read into the record the plea deal offer, along with the sentencing guidelines if Lloyd is convicted on all charges.

Judge Valarie Costanzo spoke to Lloyd, who appeared for the hearing through video conferencing from the Washington County jail, and advised him of his options while also explaining that she was not trying to sway him one way or another. When she asked Lloyd whether he wished to proceed to trial, he simply responded, “Yes.” Costanzo scheduled Lloyd for the May trial term, although a specific date has not been set.

His two co-defendants, Logan, who is free on unsecured bond, and Kimbrew, who is jailed on $500,000 cash bond, have not been scheduled for trial for the case.