Zachary Hughes, 27, of Lima, will be sentenced Aug. 15 after pleading guilty Thursday to providing the fentanyl which resulted in the overdose death of his mother.
J Swygart | The Lima News
LIMA — One of two Allen County men who prosecutors say furnished fentanyl to a woman, causing her death, followed his half-brother’s lead on Thursday and pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the case.
Zachary Hughes, 27, of Lima, appeared before Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Reed and entered pleas of guilty to trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony, and an amended charge of reckless homicide, a felony of the third degree.
His half-brother, Joshua Hughes, pleaded guilty last month to identical charges as part of a negotiated plea deal.
Both men were indicted by a grand jury in October of last year on counts of involuntary manslaughter, felonies of the first degree; corrupting another with drugs, second-degree felonies; and trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound, felonies of the fifth degree. The grand jury indictment alleged that on or about April 20, 2021, the men furnished fentanyl to Kathy Hughes, which resulted in her death.
Joshua Hughes is the deceased woman’s son.
Zachary Hughes will be sentenced Aug. 15 while a sentencing hearing for Joshua Hughes, 39, will be held July 25. Both men face a maximum possible sentence of four years in prison.
According to court records, Lima police on April 21 of last year responded to the 500 block of South Main Street in Lima in response to the report of an unresponsive female at Guiding Light-The Resting Place, an addiction recovery home for women.
Officers found the female deceased and identified her as Kathy Hughes. Investigators determined that Zachary and Joshua Hughes furnished the fentanyl which caused Joshua Hughes’ mother to overdose.
The Allen County Public Defenders Office earlier this year filed a motion asking that a competency evaluation be conducted with Joshua Hughes. That evaluation took place and a report dated March 7 from Dr. Massimo De Marchis at the Forensic Psychiatry Center for Western Ohio in Dayton included the opinion that Hughes was competent to stand trial.
