New Kensington man charged, accused of providing fentanyl that killed 2 people

A New Kensington man was charged Thursday with providing fatal doses of drugs investigators said killed two people two days apart: his girlfriend and a man who was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison.

Davi J. Roman, 29, was denied bail.

The case was investigated by a grand jury convened in Westmoreland County early last year.

Shaunna Thomas, 27, formerly of Jeannette, died Sept. 26, 2023, in a New Kensington home where she was living with Roman. Police took Roman into custody on a bench warrant that day, and the grand jury presentment indicates evidence showed he smuggled drugs into the jail.

Terry L. Brumley Jr., 33, was found dead in his cell the morning of Sept. 28, 2023.

Six other inmates showed signs of drug overdoses, some of whom were treated at a hospital Sept. 27 and 28, 2023, before returning to the Hempfield jail, according to the grand jury presentment.

Thomas and Brumley both died from fentanyl intoxication, according to court papers.

Video evidence presented to the grand jury showed Roman’s movements throughout the facility Sept. 26 and 27, 2023, after he arrived there on the bench warrant in a 2017 burglary case filed by New Kensington police.

He was seen repeatedly being uncooperative with jail guards during a strip search and body scan, according to the presentment.

Later, he was seen underneath a blanket removing an item from a body cavity, pouring a white powdery substance from a baggie into his palm and snorting it on the evening of Sept. 26, 2023, authorities say. He snorted more of the substance the following morning, apparently before being re-sentenced by a judge in the 2017 case.

Before being released from the jail about 8 p.m. Sept. 27, 2023, Roman talked and interacted with fellow inmates, some of whom he knew, the grand jury said. Inmates told investigators they believed Roman was the source of the drugs.

About 10 p.m., the overdoses started, according to the presentment.

Brumley, who had an Oklahoma address and previously lived in Southwest Greensburg, was found dead by his cellmate the following morning.

He had been held at the jail since Jan. 4, 2023, according to jail records.

It’s the same day state police said he stole a van belonging to a Youngwood business, crashed it in New Stanton and then led troopers on a foot chase. Police said in court papers that Brumley appeared to be under the influence of methamphetamine and they seized drug paraphernalia from his pocket.

Brumley pleaded guilty Aug. 29, 2023, to theft, criminal trespass, flight to avoid apprehension and related offenses. He was sentenced to 1 1/2 to three years in a state prison, according to court records.

Roman is charged with two counts of drug delivery resulting in death and other drug-related offenses. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records.

A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 7. He has been at the jail since April.

Two drug-related cases against him are pending.

Other cases probed

Roman’s arrest was the second to come from the investigating grand jury that was convened to look into unsolved homicides.

The group has been meeting monthly after being seated in February 2024. Their work is expected to wrap up in the next month or so.

“This is the intended purpose of why we convened a grand jury in this county: to hear complex and complicated cases like this one,” District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said in a statement.

It the first time in about three decades that Westmoreland County prosecutors have used a grand jury.