An Erie man charged in the 2021 overdose death of Taylor Miller, 27, a Fairview advocate for addicts, has waived his right to a preliminary hearing in the case.
Charges against Jeffery L. Thomas, 42, will be bound over to court. Thomas waived his scheduled hearing before McKean District Judge Denise Stuck-Lewis on Thursday morning.
Thomas is charged with drug delivery resulting in death, a first-degree felony. He is also charged with felony counts of possession with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication facility plus a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance.
He was arraigned on the charges on April 10.
Miller died of a fentanyl overdose on April 11, 2021, after a years-long struggle with drugs that she openly discussed to help others. She founded the Heroin Overdose Prevention in Erie — or H.O.P.E. — Facebook page in 2014 to raise awareness of overdose deaths and to help and advocate for addicts.
Pennsylvania State Police said that Thomas admitted in social media messages and to state police that he supplied fentanyl to Miller before her death, according to the criminal complaint.
Additionally, investigators said that a review of financial records showed a number of money transfers to a “Jeffery Thomas” and “Jeffery T” shortly before Miller died.
No court date for the case has been set.