Jury deadlocks in trial of Greensburg man charged with nephew's fatal overdose

A mistrial was declared Thursday in the case of a Greensburg man charged with providing his nephew with a fatal dose of fentanyl-laced heroin.

After more than seven hours of deliberations, a Westmoreland County jury deadlocked on the most serious of the six charges against Michael Rebosky, 59.

Prosecutors said Christopher Rebosky, 38, of Ohio died in October 2021 from an overdose after spending a drug-filled night with his uncle, when the two men used cocaine before they shared fentanyl-laced heroin.

Jurors convicted Michael Rebosky of lesser felony charges of drug delivery, possession of cocaine and a misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment.

It found him not guilty on felony counts of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver and possession of fentanyl.

Common Pleas Judge Michael Stewart terminated the deliberations after the jury said they were unable to reach a verdict on the most serious charge, which carries a potential prison term of up to 20 years in prison.

Rebosky has been in jail without bond since his arrest in July 2022.The judge ordered he remain in custody pending a sentencing hearing that will be conducted in about three months on the three counts to which he was convicted.

Prosecutors on Thursday did not say if they will seek to retry Rebosky on the drug delivery resulting in death charge.

The defense argued there was not enough evidence to convict and suggested prosecutors charged the wrong man.

Defense lawyer Emily Smarto said police failed to properly investigate Rebosky’s disclosure that he bought the fatal drug dose from an unnamed dealer who operated from a nearby trailer park.

She also argued that because Rebosky shared the drugs with his nephew, he cannot under the existing law be found guilty. She said the drug delivery resulting in death law only applies to dealers and not addicts.

“This was a laughable investigation. Beyond laughable,” Smarto said. “You can’t be sharing drugs and be guilty of drug delivery resulting in death.”

The defense presented no witnesses in its case and Rebosky did not testify.

Smarto argued initial hospital reports indicated the overdose was caused by a combination of multiple drugs, including cocaine, fentanyl and Xylazine, which is a horse tranquilizer that authorities say has become a common additive to fentanyl and heroin.

Prosecution experts testified the presence of Xylazine in Christopher Rebosky’s blood was erroneously reported in early hospital reports, and toxicology conducted by the county coroner found no traces of that drug. It determined the fatal overdose was caused by a deadly amount of fentanyl.

Michael Rebosky, according to police testimony and a video-recorded confession, told investigators he bought heroin and shared one bag with his nephew. Police said Rebosky initially claimed his nephew supplied the fatal dose but revised to his story after investigators said they found evidence that he bought the drugs.

Assistant District Attorney Steven Reddy rebutted the defense’s theory of the case and said state law required jurors to convict.

“The defendant knows that the evidence shows he’s guilty. He heard the defense say the defendant suffered enough, but he gave his opiate-naive nephew the drugs. What about Chris?” Reddy said.