Woman gets prison term in fatal overdose case

PORT CLINTON - A woman accused of tampering with the scene of a fatal heroin overdose at her residence in 2016 has been sentenced to 4½ years in prison.

Jordyn T. Beckhusen, 24, of Genoa, was sentenced Friday to three years for one count attempted corrupting another with drugs and 18 months for one count of tampering with evidence, totaling 54 months in prison. She was given credit for 407 days already served in the Ottawa County Detention Facility.

As part of her sentence, Beckhusen was also fined $5,000.

Beckhusen pleaded guilty to both charges in March. As part of a plea agreement, one count of involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, and another count of tampering with evidence was dismissed.

According to reports from the Port Clinton Police Department, Beckhusen allegedly played a role in the death of Harold Carter, 47, whose body was found in the grass at the Bay Meadows apartment complex in April 2016, where Beckhusen resided at the time.

Beckhusen alleged that James Bell, who sold the drugs to them, prevented her from calling 911.

Ottawa County Prosecutor James VanEerten said the evidence showed that Bell was not at the scene at the time of the overdose, that Beckhusen administered the drugs for Carter, and that she was not coerced.

However, Beckhusen’s defense attorney Tom DeBacco, said that she did not administer the drugs for Carter, alleging that the two others at the scene of the overdose were lying.

In March 2017, Bell pleaded guilty and admitted in court to his involvement, but also alleged he was assisted by two women in the apartment during the incident, Beckhusen and Katlyn Sheppard, 20, of Toledo.

Bell’s account of what happened was different than Beckhusen’s.

Bell admitted to going to the apartment to sell drugs, and said he also was in need of a ride. He said he went upstairs to make a deal and later, when he was about to leave, observed someone in the kitchen drawing heroin into a needle for Carter.

Bell, who claimed he had never dealt with Carter before, said he asked what was happening and was told that they were helping Carter. Bell said he assumed they meant Carter needed help “shooting up.”

Bell said he then asked them to contact him when they were finished so he could have a ride back. After not hearing from them, Bell said he called the two and they met him in a car and told him Carter had overdosed.

Beckhusen was indicted by a grand jury in April 2017, about a month after Bell pleaded guilty. Sheppard was charged through a bill of information filed earlier that year.

Sheppard pleaded guilty to the charge of attempted tampering with evidence in February of this year, and as part of a plea agreement, agreed to testify in any proceedings of Beckhusen’s case, according to court records.

In April, Sheppard was sentenced to a suspended prison term of 18 months and placed on community control for three years. Sheppard was ordered to serve 180 days at the MonDay Community Correctional Institution in Dayton.

More:Woman gets probation in 2016 overdose death tampering case

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