Jeffery Prater

SILVER LAKE — A Silver Lake man was arrested after allegedly administering heroin to a man who died as a result of a drug overdose a year ago.

Jeffery Prater, 49, 5086 W. Corley’s Lane, Silver Lake, is being charged with dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, a level 1 felony; and possession of a narcotic drug and maintaining a common nuisance, level 6 felonies.

On June 12, 2018, an officer with the Silver Lake Police Department responded to a report of a drug overdose at an unspecified residence. Upon arrival, the officer observed medical technicians performing CPR on Adam Arnett, 56, Akron. Two occupants of the residence were present during the CPR, including Prater.

According to court documents, CPR was performed for about 30 minutes before Arnett was pronounced dead.

The officer talked with Prater, who said Arnett rode a moped to his residence, sat down at the kitchen table, fell asleep and began snoring. Arnett suddenly quit snoring and a woman at the residence began CPR.

Kosciusko County Coroner Tony Ciriello arrived and obtained blood samples from the victim. The samples were sent to AXIS forensic toxicology for examination. Ciriello learned that Arnett died from an overdose of Citalopram, morphine and Alprazolam.

According to court paperwork, Morphine therapeutic levels should be between 10 and 80 nanograms per milliliter; and therapeutic levels for Citalopram are between 10 to 120 nanograms per milliliter. According to the toxicology report, the morphine and Citalopram levels were at 193 and 363 nanograms per milliliter, respectively.

On June 28, 2018, an officer spoke with an individual who was at Prater’s residence at the time of the overdose. The individual said Prater came over to obtain illegal drugs with the intention of getting high. According to court documents, the individual witnessed Prater prepare a syringe with heroin. Before the injection took place, Arnett admitted to taking several Xanax. The individual at the scene told Prater not to inject Arnett because he thought it may cause an adverse reaction. After Prater injected the drug, Arnett fell asleep and suddenly stopped breathing. Prater then began to clean the residence of any drug use while a woman at the scene performed CPR.

The officer also spoke with a woman who was at the residence at the time of the overdose. She told the officer she and another person were told to leave because the police were coming. Later that night, the woman went back to Prater’s residence and Prater said he should’ve listened to the other person about not injecting the heroin. She said Prater told her Arnett was “a big boy” and knew the consequences.

He was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on July 2, with a $100,250 surety and cash bond.

Prater was previously convicted of possession of cocaine in 2013 in Kosciusko County Circuit Court.