A Lower Burrell man was ordered to serve up to eight years on probation for the sale of drugs that caused the 2017 fatal overdose of a childhood friend in New Kensington.

Donald K. Lewandowski Jr., 37, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one felony drug count in connection with the May 2017 death of 32-year-old Justin Yohe of New Kensington.

Police said Lewandowski bought fentanyl and heroin from a drug dealer in New Kensington and then sold it to Yohe for $65. Yohe later was found dead in his Freeport Road home.

According to court records, police found evidence that Yohe had called Lewandowski before the overdose.

In court Tuesday, Westmoreland County Assistant District Attorney Pete Caravello said Lewandowski admitted his involvement in the fatal drug deal and helped prosecutors identify the man from whom he originally bought the heroin and fentanyl.

“He cooperated with the investigation and was available for trial,” Caravello said.

Caravello described Lewandowski and Yohe as childhood friends and neighbors. Caravello said the dead man’s family members, who testified during Tuesday’s hearing, continue to hold Lewandowski accountable for the overdose.

“They wished the defendant had stayed away from him,” Caravello said.

Prosecutors dismissed the most serious offense charged, a felony count of drug delivery resulting in death, along with two lesser charges.

In addition to the eight-year probation sentence, Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears ordered Lewandowski to serve three years on house arrest.

Martez D. “Chico” Whitlow, 30, the man who police said originally sold the drugs to Lewandowski, pleaded guilty in September to a charge of drug delivery resulting in death. Whitlow was sentenced to serve 5 to 10 years in prison.

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