Drug charges related to North Huntingdon woman's death dismissed

Westmoreland County prosecutors dismissed drug delivery resulting in death charges against two men accused of providing a fatal dose of fentanyl-laced heroin to a North Huntingdon woman nearly three years ago.

Police said Iona J. Runkle, 46, was found dead Jan. 12, 2020, in her mobile home at the Dusty Rhodes Trailer Court in North Huntingdon.

Runkle’s brother, Forest G. Piper Jr., 51, of West Newton, and a second man, Jason Alan Lewis, 50, of Boston, were charged in connection with the death following a three-month investigation. Both men pleaded guilty Thursday to lesser drug-related offenses.

Westmoreland County Assistant District Attorney Anthony Iannamorelli told Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio that difficulties in identifying the origins of the multiple drugs found in Runkle’s system after her death, including the heroin authorities said that directly caused her overdose, led to the decision to drop the most serious offenses against Piper and Lewis.

The charges were dismissed based on the facts of the case, according to a statement from District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli.

Both men pleaded guilty to felony drug charges and the pleas were reached with consent from Runkle’s family, according to the statement.

Police said Piper admitted to buying10 stamp bags of heroin from Lewis that he shared with his sister. Investigators identified Lewis from surveillance camera video recorded at a local convenience store where the purported drug transaction occurred.

Both men pleaded guilty to drug delivery and possession charges and will be sentenced early next year.

Lewis also pleaded guilty to drug counts in three other cases, including an incident where police said they found heroin in a hotel room where he was arrested on the charges related to Runkle’s overdose. Lewis also pleaded a drug offense and reckless endangerment in connection with a man who overdosed and was left in the parking lot of a Med Express facility in Murrysville in 2021.