djohnson@mojonews.com
LISBON — Tyree DeShaun Robinson pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the overdose death of Joseph Robert Urgitus on Tuesday morning, even through Robinson pointed out during the hearing in Common Pleas Court he had never met Urgitus.
Robinson, 26, of Youngstown, had been scheduled for a jury trial this week before deciding to plead guilty to the only charge he faced, a first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter.
Chief Assistant County Prosecutor Ryan Weikart said both witnesses and text messages link Robinson to the death of Urgitus. During Tuesday’s plea hearing, Assistant County Prosecutor Alec Beech told Judge Megan Bickerton that Robinson sold Urgitus a mixture of both crack cocaine and heroin on March 6, 2019. At the time of the arrest, investigators believed the drugs also may have contained fentanyl.