CLEARFIELD – It took a jury over four hours on Wednesday to find a West Decatur man guilty of supplying drugs that led to a woman’s death.
Trevor Joel Bloom, 41, was convicted of drug delivery resulting in death and delivery of a controlled substance, both felonies, as well as misdemeanor recklessly endangering another person. He was acquitted of misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter.
The jury noted about three hours into their deliberations that they had agreed on all but one of the charges. President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman asked them to continue deliberating for a “reasonable time” to see if they could reach a unanimous decision.
Following the announcement of their verdicts, Joshua Maines, attorney for Bloom asked for the jury to be polled and all members confirmed they agreed with their conclusion.
Bloom is being held in the county jail in lieu of $250,000 bail while he awaits sentencing, which should occur within 90 days.
The charges stem from an incident on Dec. 21, 2021, when authorities were notified that a 36-year-old woman, Lindsey LaBorde, was having a cardiac arrest at a Coal Hill Road residence.
Although Narcan was administered and CPR performed on her both prior to emergency services arriving on-scene and after, she was pronounced dead at Penn Highlands Clearfield.
Bloom, LaBorde’s fiancé, and another male were on the scene with Bloom being the one who called 911.
When questioned, Bloom, who admitted he has been a heroin user for 20 years, told police she had complained of being sick and having a headache all day.
She was not a drug user, but “he suggested to LaBorde that she ‘snort’ the heroin, ultimately making a line for her on a small table in the dining room,” according to the affidavit of probable cause.
He said he was “only joking” with her and did not think she would use it.
He went upstairs to play music with the other man for about 20 minutes before returning downstairs where he found her unresponsive on the floor.
Police observed residue on the table along with three pink stamp bags that had been torn open for use.
The coroner’s report indicated the victim had overdosed and died from Fentanyl. The toxicology report received in February of 2022 showed she had other substances in her system including methamphetamine.
Officers noted in the affidavit that Bloom stated he had dealt with drug overdoses 70 times in the past, administering CPR, which had brought everyone back except the victim.
When he was asked about what was in the stamp bags he purchased, he confirmed he knew it would be Fentanyl because “everything you purchase these days is Fentanyl.”
In an interview after the trial ended, District Attorney Ryan Sayers said he was pleased and the “jury got it right.” Bloom could get anywhere from a minimum of 5 ½ years to a maximum of 40 years in state prison.
The victim’s family was “emotional”, he said and although this won’t bring her back, “this gives them closure” because he is being held accountable.
He thanked the jury for being so attentive and taking the time to consider all of the testimony and evidence. He also thanked Officer Zachary Cowan of the Clearfield Regional Police Department and others for their work in the investigation.
“Hopefully this verdict will be a cautionary tale for those delivering/selling drugs. If they cause a death, we will prosecute them.”