An accused drug dealer will spend five to seven and a half years in prison for providing the drugs that contributed to the overdose death of a New Philadelphia teen.
24-year-old Thomas Ritchie in May pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and drug charges related to the 2025 death of a 17-year-old New Philadelphia and Buckeye Career Center student.
Tuscarawas County Sheriff Detective and LEAD Drug Task Force Commander Cole Morris says Ritchie sold cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms to the teen in March of last year.
Later, the sheriff’s office responded to a report of an overdose at a party attended by many teenagers in Franklin Township. Morris says the teen died at Akron Children’s Hospital a couple of days later.
Judge Michael Ernest on June 16 sentenced Ritchie to prison and ordered him to pay over 17-thousand dollars in restitution to the victim’s family.
Ritchie is in the Tuscarawas County Jail awaiting transfer to a correctional facility.
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