Defense questions trooper's overdose in bid to nix assault, drug charges

A Pennsylvania State Police trooper testified this week he overdosed after being exposed to fentanyl during an arrest of a Pittsburgh man last year.

“I woke up in the hospital later that day and was treated for a suspected overdose,” Trooper Joshua Wiskeman said during a pretrial hearing related to a May 23, 2024, arrest in the parking lot of the Delmont Walmart.

Robert M. Whitley Jr., 27, is charged with drug offenses and aggravated assault in connection to the trooper’s alleged overdose.

Whitley now contends troopers improperly searched his vehicle and there is no basis for the assault charge.

“They are woefully short of establishing probable cause,” defense attorney Kenneth Haber said of the search that resulted in the drug charges against Whitley. Haber argued the assault charge cannot be prosecuted if a judge rules the vehicle search was improper.

Haber also questioned whether Wiskeman overdosed, suggesting prosecutors are unable to prove the trooper’s symptoms were related to drugs found in Whitley’s vehicle. Haber argued he has seen no medical reports to substantiate the overdose allegations.

Investigators contend Whitley was identified by a confidential informant as being involved in a drug transaction in Murrysville and sought to detain him after he traveled into Westmoreland County.

Wiskeman testified as police surrounded the vehicle he shattered the driver’s side window and forcefully removed Whitley from the car after he refused to comply with police instructions.

As Whitley sat on the ground while handcuffed, Wiskeman took the keys from the ignition, circled the vehicle and reached into the passenger’s side door and tossed the keys on the driver’s seat so it could be towed away.

In doing so, he leaned in and one hand touched a bag that sat on the passenger’s side floor, he testified. Dashcam video revealed Wiskeman was inside the vehicle for about seven seconds. Wiskeman maintained he never searched the car or saw drugs during the short time he was inside the car.

The prosecution contends Wiskeman came into contact with fentanyl stashed in Whitley’s vehicle.

Wiskeman testified he started to feel ill as he drove back to the state police’s Greensburg barracks, where he continued to experience symptoms of an alleged overdose.

Cpl. Jonathan Lindsay said he found Wiskeman in the barracks in distress and administered two doses of Narcan to reverse the overdose symptoms that included vomiting, headache, disorientation, sweating and pinpoint pupils.

“It was apparent to me it was an overdose that was going on,” Lindsay testified.

A subsequent search of Whitley’s vehicle, conducted by troopers in protective gear, found 40 bricks of suspected heroin or fentanyl and about 5.5 ounces of suspected cocaine in a bag on the vehicle’s floor, authorities said.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears said he would rule on Whitley’s pretrial motions this year after reviewing written legal arguments submitted by the lawyers.