Police say Beechview woman contributed to friend’s fentanyl-related death
A Pittsburgh woman has been criminally charged with contributing to the fentanyl-related death of her best friend.
Scott police on Monday charged Mackenzie Bell, 24, of Beechview with criminal conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility in the March 11 death of Allison Schreiner, 24, of Scott Township, according to a criminal complaint in the case.
Bell was arraigned Monday afternoon and taken to Allegheny County Jail, where she posted $50,000 bail, court records show.
Bell, who was Schreiner’s best friend, said Schreiner was going through a break-up with her boyfriend and she was spending the night at Schreiner’s house in March, the complaint said. That night, Bell helped organize a drug deal to buy 6 pills for $100 from Nathan Yokim, 20, of the South Hills.
Schreiner died at 5:27 a.m. March 11 in a home in the 100 block of North Wren Drive in Scott Township, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner said.
A toxicology report revealed there was fentanyl, Norfentanyl and desproplonyl fentanyl in her system at the time of her death, the complaint said. Cocaine metabolites, Clonazepam and Oxymorphone also were present.
Associate Medical Examiner Todd Luckasevic told police Schreiner died as a result of a combined drug poisoning and the manner of death was ruled an accident.
Yokim was charged Monday with drug delivery resulting in death, conspiracy, criminal use of a communication facility, and three drug charges, court records show. Two of the three drug charges are felonies.
Yokim was being held Tuesday in Allegheny County Jail on $100,000 bail, court records show.
Her attorney told Tribune-Review news partner WTAE that Schreiner had several drugs in her system, and he said his client is not responsible.
“We’ll find out exactly what more information they can provide to us at the preliminary hearing,” said Casey White, who represents Yokim. “Right now, there’s a lot of finger-pointing done by a number of witnesses.”
Both Bell and Yokim have a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 12.
Justin Vellucci is a TribLive reporter covering crime and public safety in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A longtime freelance journalist and former reporter for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he worked as a general assignment reporter at the Trib from 2006 to 2009 and returned in 2022. He can be reached at jvellucci@triblive.com.
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