Boswell man acquitted of charges linked to fatal overdose

Mar. 25—SOMERSET, Pa. — A Boswell man has been found not guilty of criminal charges in connection with a July 2019 drug death after a Somerset County judge granted a defense attorney's motion for acquittal, authorities said.

A jury trail was held in Somerset County court on March 18 for Nicholas J. St. Clair, 36, of the 200 block of Main Street.

In a complaint affidavit, Berlin Borough police Sgt. William R. Gonzalez Sr. said St. Clair sold heroin to Travis Ray Nightingale, 28, who was found dead inside a Brubaker Street home on July 23, 2019.

Police charged St. Clair with felony counts of drug delivery involving death, criminal use of a communication facility and drug possession.

Before the case was handed to the nine-man/three-woman jury, President Judge D. Gregory Geary granted defense attorney Jaclyn M. Shaw's motion for acquittal.

Assistant District Attorney Aaron Ling prosecuted the case.

In an email, Somerset County District Attorney Molly Metzgar said her office was "disappointed with the outcome of the St. Clair trial, but our office will continue to prosecute drug dealing cases to the fullest extent possible."

Shaw said she was surprised the judge took the unusual step of acquittal before jury deliberations. But she believed the case was built entirely on "speculation."

"Based on the lack of evidence, the judge made a good decision," Shaw said.

Shaw said the crux of the prosecution's case was based on the officer's interpretation of text messages — "text messages between the victim and a phone number they were trying to attribute to my client," she said.

One legal expert called the pre-jury acquittal unusual.

"It is very, very rare for a judge to grant an acquittal without it going to a jury," Bernard M. Tully, a Pittsburgh attorney and former prosecutor, said in an email.

"Making that decision took a lot of courage," Tully said. "It is not a popular thing to do. In my 40 years of practicing criminal law, I can only think of one other time that occurred."

Tully said he has appeared before Judge Geary and found him to be "extremely" fair to both the prosecution and the defense.