Jeannette man pleads no contest to drug sale in fatal overdose

A Jeannette man pleaded no contest this week to selling drugs used in the fatal overdose of a friend two years ago in a Hempfield high-rise apartment building.

The defense lawyer for Rick Paul Petros, 54, said his client continues to question whether the drugs are to blame for the Aug. 1, 2020, death of Eugene S. Matyonosky, 48, of New Alexandria, who was found unresponsive in his mother’s home in Hempfield Towers and died later that day at Excela Health in Greensburg.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said Petros’ no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is still considered a conviction under state law.

According to court records, police linked Petros to the fentanyl-laced heroin that caused Matyonosky’s death through phone records and surveillance video that allegedly depicted the men together in Petros’ truck before the overdose.

Petros pleaded guilty to one felony count of delivery of a controlled substance and no contest to the most serious offense, drug delivery resulting in death. Prosecutors dismissed two drug-related offenses as part of the plea deal.

“He acknowledges he delivered drugs that day, but he doesn’t think they were the ones that caused (Matyonosky’s) death,” said defense attorney Adam Gorzelsky.

Petros, who has been in jail since his arrest nearly two years ago, will remain incarcerated until he is sentenced in about three months.

Gorzelsky said standard sentencing guidelines indicate Petros could receive a potential penalty of nine to 18 years in prison. The defense is expected to ask for a lesser sentence based on mitigating circumstances, Gorzelsky said.