By Liz Adkins
InkFreeNews

Shane Ashley Holloway

WARSAW — A 12-person jury and two alternates have been seated in a trial for a Syracuse man charged with dealing drugs to a woman who overdosed and passed away.

Shane Ashley Holloway, 53, 306 W. Valleyview Drive, Syracuse, is charged with dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, a level 1 felony.

The state’s case is being presented by Prosecutor Brad Voelz, and Holloway is represented by Austin Rovenstine and Wesley Kirkwood.

In Indiana, a Level 1 felony is punishable by 20 to 40 years in prison, with an advisory sentence of 30 years.

Eight men and six women were seated on the jury in Kosciusko Circuit Court around 11:45 a.m. Friday, Nov. 8, with Judge Michael Reed presiding.

The trial will commence at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, as county offices are closed for Veterans Day on Monday, Nov. 11. Holloway’s trial is currently expected to last until Friday, Nov. 15.

Affidavit of Probable Cause

On Aug. 25, 2023, medical personnel responded to a residence in Syracuse regarding a report of an unresponsive woman, who was later pronounced dead. The woman was identified as Nicole Coburn, 41, Syracuse.

According to court documents, while responding to the residence, officers found drug paraphernalia in a bathroom. Holloway and two other men were at the home upon officers’ arrival. One of the men told officers he found Coburn in the residence’s bathroom.

All three men refused consent for the residence to be searched but Holloway agreed to speak with law enforcement.

Holloway said Coburn was in the bathroom when he came home. He said this was odd since one of the men typically drove Coburn to work around that time. One of the men then called Holloway and asked where Coburn was. Holloway went to the bathroom door and attempted to talk with Coburn, but didn’t receive a reply.

Holloway and one of the men broke into the bathroom and found Coburn unresponsive. The man began CPR while Holloway called 911.

In his interview, Holloway said several times it took medical personnel 30 minutes to get to the scene. However, a 911 call log showed it only took EMS seven minutes to get there. Holloway would also occasionally evade officers’ questions by telling non-pertinent stories about how good a person he was.

Holloway also said no one spoke openly about drugs in the home and that he had never seen anyone in the residence use drugs.

Upon obtaining a search warrant for the home, officers found drug paraphernalia with marijuana residue and a hotel key card that tested positive for meth. In the bathroom, officers found an aluminum strip with burnt fentanyl residue.

An autopsy on Aug. 27, 2023, showed Coburn’s cause of death was drug intoxication via fentanyl, and the manner of death was ruled accidental.

Officers obtained a search warrant for Holloway’s cellphone. In the cellphone, officers found a conversation beginning on Aug. 24, 2023, and continuing through Aug. 25, 2023. The conversation involved Holloway and a woman discussing the woman delivering something to Holloway.

On Sept. 19, 2023, law enforcement spoke with the woman, who said she borrowed Holloway’s vehicle to go to South Bend and purchase fentanyl. The woman left the fentanyl in Holloway’s vehicle and described the bag it was in. The bag description matched a bag found in the residence on Aug. 25, 2023. The woman also said Holloway told her he provided Coburn with fentanyl.

Officers spoke with one of the men who was at the residence during the overdose. The man said he knew the fentanyl Coburn took came from Holloway and that he was upset because Holloway had left Coburn by herself.