Youngwood man pleads guilty to drug sales in 2 fatal overdoses

A Youngwood man pleaded guilty Monday to selling drugs to two people who died of overdoses in 2020.

Frank Bogley, 71, was charged following the Feb. 1, 2020, death of 39-year-old Tina Johnson in West Newton and again after the Oct. 24, 2020, death of John W. Wiltrout Jr., 58, in East Huntingdon.

In both cases, Bogley pleaded guilty to felony counts of drug delivery resulting in death and additional drug offenses.

According to court records, West Newton police found Johnson lying unconscious on the sidewalk of South Water Street, and subsequent toxicology reports attributed her death to a fentanyl overdose.

Police said Johnson’s longtime boyfriend, Jesse Carl Long III, claimed he drove the couple to Youngwood to purchase 10 stamp bags of what they believed would be heroin for $100 from Bogley.

Police said Long used one bag and gave the remaining drugs to Johnson.

Long, 51, also was charged with drug delivery resulting in death in connection with Johnson’s overdose, and his case is pending.

Nine months later, Bogley was accused in another fatal overdose after a friend found Wiltrout unresponsive in the passenger side of his Nissan SUV on Hotel Street in East Huntingdon, police said.

According to court records, one empty stamp bag labeled “Pandemic” was found in the glove compartment of Wiltrout’s vehicle.

Police said Wiltrout’s friend, Matthew Taxacher, arranged for Bogley to sell them the drugs a night earlier. Bogley delivered the heroin, and Wiltrout snorted one bag in his vehicle, authorities said.

Police searched Bogley’s home and found multiple stamp bags with the “Pandemic” markings, according to court records.

Taxacher, 56, of Tarrs also was charged with drug delivery resulting in death. Authorities said Taxacher cooperated with investigators. His case remains pending.

Bogley has been free on bail since his arrest in 2021. He faces up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced in about three months.

Bogley also faces charges of aggravated assault and other counts related to an incident in 2020 in Youngwood, where, police said, he attacked a man who attempted to repossess a vehicle. Defense attorney Brian Aston said that case is expected to go to trial this year.