A Lower Allen Township man will face a four- to eight-year state prison sentence for his role in a December 2021 drug overdose death.
David Speraw was sentenced Tuesday in Cumberland County court, after telling the judge and victim Joanne Sparrow’s friends and family that he was sorry for what had happened and that he loved her as well.
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Speraw, now 54, pled guilty in June to one count of unlawful possession of fentanyl with intent to deliver and involuntary manslaughter.
Case records state On December 14, 2021, Lower Allen police received a call to a home in the 5200 block of Cobblestone Drive, where they discovered Joanne Sparrow deceased.
The responding officers found evidence of drug use, which included two spoons with powder residue, a syringe located directly beneath Sparrow’s right hand, and a water bottle containing a cotton swab on her bedside table.
Sparrow revealed a cocaine metabolite and fentanyl in her system, and her death was attributed to acute fentanyl poisoning.
Sparrow’s boyfriend, who discovered her and contacted 9-1-1 around 10 a.m., told police she had a heroin addiction but had been clean until recently, according to the criminal complaint filed against Speraw.
According to the affidavit, the boyfriend caught her high on heroin the day before the death, and they battled about it.
He claimed Sparrow apologized to him for using again.
The boyfriend named Speraw as the person who may have provided Sparrow with the narcotics, claiming he also went by the names “Insky” or “Insk.”
Police subsequently discovered text communications between Sparrow and Speraw from December 12 that discussed Sparrow’s intention to purchase drugs.
On the 13th, Speraw texted Sparrow that he had her money and would deliver the pills later that night or the next morning.
Sparrow died the “next morning,” according to police.
Speraw, who previously had a home renovation firm, was arrested in April 2022.
Before Tuesday’s sentencing, Sparrow’s daughter, Marley Leach, told the court that her mother had saved Speraw’s life following an overdose several years ago.
Leach noted the irony, saying that while she has forgiven Speraw for his acts, she believes jail is the safest place for him and society until he can conquer his heroin addiction.
Speraw, who previously lived in the 1600 block of Chatham Road, is eligible for the state Department of Corrections Drug Treatment Program, according to Judge Michelle Sibert’s sentence.
After an initial period of incarceration, participants in that program receive a combination of inpatient and outpatient treatment, with the goal of completing their sentences in community detention centers.
Because Speraw has already spent slightly more than a year on the present charges, he may be eligible for parole in July 2028.
Sparrow, 56, attended Cedar Cliff High School and graduated in 1983.
