Perry Co. Man Sentenced

A Perry County man has been sentenced to jail time after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and drug trafficking charges.

The Perry County Sheriff’s Office said 30-year-old Dustin Groff of New Lexington was sentenced by Perry County Common Pleas Court Judge Tina Boyer to 9 years and 11 months in prison.

The Perry County Sheriff’s Office said Groff’s charges stem from the death of 35-year-old Megan Lyons in Somerset. Officials said Lyons died of a Fentanyl overdose and identified to subjects that had provided her the lethal doses that resulted in her death.

Officials said Lyon’s went to the residence of Stephanie Groff on Tile Plant Road in New Lexington in May of 2017 to purchase heroin. Stephanie Groff contacted her nephew, Dustin, who sold Lyons Fentanyl instead of heroin.

Task Force Agents would later learn that Dustin Groff had conducted internet searches relating to fentanyl overdoses, Ohio Manslaughter and Corrupting Another with Drug Charges. These searches were conducted prior to Dustin Groff being identified by law enforcement as a suspect in Lyons’ death.

Stephanie Groff plead guilty to reduced counts of Drug Trafficking and Corrupting Another with Drug charges in exchange for her testimony in the case against Dustin Groff.

While Dustin’s case was pending, he learned that Stephanie was planning to testify against him which resulted in him making attempts to intimidate her to prevent her from testifying. Dustin Groff was charged and subsequently convicted of Attempted Witness Intimidation in Muskingum County and served 12 months in prison.

Dustin Groff remains in the Southeast Ohio Regional Jail and is awaiting custody transfer to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.