Man Sentenced In Depraved Heart Murder Case: Harford County Prosecutor

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — A Havre de Grace man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of second-degree depraved heart murder and one count of distribution of controlled dangerous substances after Harford County sheriff's deputies found a 33-year-old victim dead from a suspected overdose on Oct. 12, 2023.

Kusan Hines, 43, entered a plea that stated on Oct. 11, 2023, Hines and his girlfriend went to the victim's Havre de Grace apartment. They were seen on surveillance videos from the apartment and were the last ones to be at the apartment before the victim was found dead the next day. In November 2023, detectives interviewed Hines who said he was friends with the victim and confirmed that it was his girlfriend and himself on the surveillance video. Hines told detectives that the victim had a preexisting mental condition that caused him to have hallucinations, that drugs made the hallucinations worse, that his mental condition was "worse than ever" and the victim was admitted to the hospital for his mental conditions not long before the overdose, according to Hines' guilty plea.

Hines also said in his guilty plea that he went to the victim’s apartment to cook crack cocaine and smoke with him. The victim smoked the crack cocaine and likely was unaware that it contained fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl, Hines said. After smoking, the victim started “acting weird.” Hines left with his girlfriend, leaving the victim alone in his apartment without seeking any medical assistance. Detectives also spoke with a witness who said that Hines came into the Fluff and Fold Laundromat the day after the overdose and kept repeating “It’s my fault, it’s my fault.” When asked what he was referring to, Hines said “I gave him too much.” This same witness confirmed that Hines was the only one that would deal drugs to the victim, since other dealers refused due to his mental conditions, the plea agreement stated.

When deputies conducted a welfare check on the suspect, the handyman for the property couldn't access the apartment because the locks had been changed. They used a ladder to peer into the apartment and saw the victim slumped over in the bedroom, according to court documents. Detectives found a glass smoking device commonly used for smoking crack cocaine underneath the suspect's body. He was taken to the medical examiner where a forensic toxicologist confirmed that he had a combination of cocaine, benzoylecgonine, fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl in his system. An autopsy confirmed that the cause of his death was fentanyl, despropionyl fentanyl and cocaine intoxication, the prosecution stated.

After pleading guilty, Hines was sentenced to 30 years suspend all but 12 years, followed by five years of supervised probation after his release.

“I cannot say enough about the importance of this case and the precedent it has set for how we will handle future overdose cases in Harford County. I commend Assistant State’s Attorney Stuart Welch for his tireless efforts and collaboration with our Harford County Drug Taskforce to support the investigation and prosecution of those that deal drugs in our communities, especially in cases that result in death. To our knowledge, this is the first murder conviction in the state of Maryland related to a fatal overdose, and Harford County has now opened the door for this to become the norm. We will continue to seek even higher sentences in an effort to deter the distribution of these poisons in our community," said Harford County State’s Attorney Alison Healey.