3 Charged In Local Woman's Death From Fentanyl Overdose

FALLS TOWNSHIP, PA — Three men were charged in connection with the fatal overdose of a Falls Township woman from a fentanyl-laced pill in August 2020.

Ryan Shields, 39, of Falls Township; Patric Hish, 33, of Brookhaven, Delaware County; and Francis Nungesser, 43, of Morrisville, were charged with drug delivery resulting in death; the manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance; criminal use of a communication facility; involuntary manslaughter; and recklessly endangering another person.

Amanda's husband, Ryan Shields, was charged on Jan. 6. Hish and Nungesser were charged on Tuesday. According to court records, Shields was held on 10 percent of $4 million bail and Nungesser was held on 10 percent of $3 million bail, while Hish was released on $50,000 unsecured.

The men were accused of supplying drugs to Amanda Shields, who died at the age of 40 in her home on Aug. 11, 2020, after ingesting a pill she thought was Percocet, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

Ryan Shields supplied drugs to Amanda Shields, the district attorney's office said. Ryan Shields bought the drugs from Hish and Nungesser, the office said.

Falls Township police officers went to the Shields residence at 815 Trenton Road and found Amanda dead of what appeared to be an overdose, the district attorney's office said.

Amanda Shields ingested a pill she thought was Percocet but that actually contained fentanyl, ethanol and alprazolam, all of which showed up in Amanda Shields' autopsy after Ms. Shield's death, the district attorney's office said.