Two arrested in fatal overdose investigation in Perry County
PERRY COUNTY, Ohio – According to the office of the Perry County Sheriff, on August 30, 2018 the Perry County Grand Jury indicted 28-year-old Dustin E. Groff of 309 Rush Street, New Lexington on one (1) count of Aggravated Trafficking in Heroin – a second degree felony, one (1) count of Aggravated Trafficking in Fentanyl – a third degree felony, one (1) count of Aggravated Trafficking in Fentanyl – a fourth degree felony, one (1) count of Corrupting Another with Drugs – a second degree felony and one (1) count of Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity, a first degree felony.
The grand jury also indicted 27-year-old Stephanie M. Groff of 500 Tile Plant Road – Lot #18, New Lexington on one (1) count of Aggravated Trafficking in Fentanyl w/ a juvenile specification – a third degree felony and one (1) count of Corrupting Another with Drugs – a second degree felony.
On May 4, 2017, Perry County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the address of 3965 Reading Township Road 124 / Somerset, Ohio on a report of a possible overdose. When they arrived, deputies found 34-year-old Megan N. Lyons unresponsive in the bathroom of the home. Sheriff’s deputies administered both CPR and Narcan in attempts of reviving Lyons until Somerset EMS arrived on scene. Lyons was transported to the Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster, Ohio where she died two (2) days later on May 6, 2018. The Fairfield County Coroner’s Office determined that Lyons’ death was an approximate result of an overdose of a mixture of Fentanyl and Acetl-Fentanyl. With the cooperation of the Lyons’ family, detectives with the Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Perry County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office investigated the circumstances of Lyons death to determine the source of the drugs and were able to identify Dustin Groff and his aunt, Stephanie Groff as suspects.
Investigators allege that on May 4, 2017, Megan Lyons had approached Stephanie Groff to purchase heroin at Stephanie’s residence located at 500 Tile Plant Road – Lot #18 in New Lexington, Ohio. Stephanie Groff contacted her nephew, Dustin Groff and brokered the deal between Lyons and Dustin Groff. After Lyons had purchased what she believed to be heroin from Dustin Groff, Lyons returned home where she used the drugs in her bathroom which resulted in her overdose. Drugs found in Lyons’ bathroom were tested and found to be a mixture of Fentanyl and Acetl-Fentanyl.
Dustin Groff and his 23yr old girlfriend, Amanda Jo Lax of Fultonham, Ohio was arrested in Mount Perry, by Task Force Agents and Perry County Sheriff’s deputies on September 5, 2018. At the time of their arrest, bulk quantities of heroin were found in their vehicle and it is believed that these drugs were being transported back to Perry County for distribution. Dustin Groff and Amanda Lax were booked into the Southeast Ohio Regional Jail on Felony Drug charges.
Stephanie M. Groff was arrested at her home, 500 Tile Plant Road – Lot #18 / New Lexington, Ohio this morning (September 6, 2018). Dustin and Stephanie Groff await their initial appearance in the Perry County Common Pleas Court before Judge Tina Boyer. Amanda Jo Lax is incarcerated pending a bond hearing in the Perry County Municipal Court before Judge Dean Wilson. Attached are booking photos of all arrested.
