Maryland woman arrested after overdose death of 24-year-old Conewago Twp man, police say

Mariana Veloso
Hanover Evening Sun

Conewago Township Police Department arrested a woman allegedly involved in the overdose death of Seth Allen Wallen, according to an affidavit filed with District Judge Daniel Bowman.

Donna Lynn Goodman, 51, of Taneytown, Maryland, was arrested Monday by Conewago Police Officer Gary Baumgardner with the help of Taneytown Police Department, according to Baumgardner.

Donna Lynn Goodman

Goodman is charged with drug delivery resulting in death, involuntary manslaughter, and three counts of manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, according to court records.

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Baumgardner said the investigation took two years to obtain all the data from the appropriate third parties to show probable cause and arrest Goodman. He filed the arrest warrant for Goodman on Sunday, and she was arrested on Monday.

Goodman is being held at the Adams County Prison. Taneytown Police took Goodman in on a fugitive from justice charge, and she was held at Carroll County Jail until she could be transferred, Baumgardner said.

"I think stories like these are important to tell so people know these overdose deaths are not just processed through the system. They are looked at by law enforcement," Baumgarder said. He went on to say that sharing these stories helps inform others that if they provide narcotics to someone and it results in a death, arrests will be made. 

"Every law enforcement agency out there is looking at (these cases)," he said.

Goodman's preliminary hearing was June 5 and her preliminary arraignment is scheduled for June 17, according to court documents.

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About the investigation

At 6:23 a.m. on June 18, 2018, Baumgardner was called to the 100 block of Friendly Drive in Conewago Township for a 24-year-old man in cardiac arrest. At the scene, the officer spoke to Wallen's parents, who said he had returned to the residence from his job in Taneytown the previous night, the affidavit states.

His parents told police that Wallen had purchased methadone and buprenorphine from a woman in Taneytown because his prescription had run out. They also said that everyone in the residence went to bed at around 11 p.m., and they found Wallen unresponsive in the morning, the affidavit states

The officer was informed that Wallen had previously been prescribed burprenorphine to assist with his opioid addiction, but had recently been removed from the program for non-compliance issues, according to the affidavit.

No narcotics were found after a search of Wallen's room, but the officer did find two prescription labels, a suspected crack pipe and Wallen's cellphone, which the parents gave permission to search. The prescription labels were for buprenorphine and had run out on June 14, the affidavit states.

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An autopsy revealed that Wallen's cause of death was mixed drug toxicity. His blood contained methadone, BDDP (a methadone metabolite), buprenorphine (also know as Suboxone), norbuprenorphine (a buprenorphine metabolite), an anti-depressant, an anti-depressant metabolite, and buspirone, which mimics the effects of medications such as alprazolam (also known as Xanax), according to the affidavit.

Julie Wallen, Seth's mother, said that most of the drugs in his system were prescribed, they include Buspirone for anxiety, fluoxetine (Prozac) for depression and Suboxone. She said that the fatal mix was between the Prozac and the methadone, which was procured illegally.

On June 15, Wallen told Goodman through Facebook messenger that his doctor would not renew his prescription and he wanted to purchase buprenorphine and alprazolam. At 3:30 p.m. that day, Wallen purchased buprenorphine, alprazolam and Suboxone according to messages they exchanged, the affidavit states.

After exchanging money, Goodman messaged Wallen "(You) didn't have to give me this much? Feel bad cause I didn't look. If (you) need the other (you) don't have to give me anything for it. I don't mind helping you. (You're) my friend." Wallen then responded by messaging, "Oh well I wasn't gonna take (expletive) for free. Thanks!," according to the affidavit.

On June 16, Wallen messaged Goodman asking for more drugs, and Goodman agreed to sell him methadone. After completing the purchase of methadone, Wallen asked if he could purchase two more bottles the next day, but Goodman said she could only sell him one, the affidavit states.

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Then, on June 17, Wallen purchased the bottle of methadone from Goodman at 9 a.m. Shortly after, at 10:50 a.m., Wallen requested to purchase another bottle and also told Goodman that he could provide her with Suboxone if needed. Messages exchanged between the two indicated that the purchase was made.

Later that evening, Goodman checked in on Wallen asking if he was OK, and at 7:42 p.m. he said he was fine, the affidavit said. At 9:05 p.m., she wished him a good evening and that was the last text message exchanged between them.

On Dec. 4, 2018, the officer spoke to Goodman, and she admitted to sending the Facebook messages but denied following through with any actual sales, the affidavit said.

According to his obituary, Wallen was a 2012 graduate of New Oxford High School and worked as the assistant meat manager at the Kennie's Market in Taneytown.

Seth Allen Wallen died on June 18, 2018. An autopsy of Wallen listed his cause of death to mixed drug toxicity, according to an affidavit filed with District Judge Daniel Bowman.

"He loved summer vacations at the beach with his family, and was an avid sports fan, especially the Green Bay Packer. He will be loved and missed and never forgotten," the obituary states.

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Mariana Veloso is the Quality of Life reporter for the USA Today Network - Pennsylvania. Veloso focuses primarily on the opioid epidemic in southcentral PA, along with coverage of everyday issues in the Hanover area. If you have a story idea, you can email her at msveloso@eveningsun.com. Follow her on Twitter @MariVeloso9 to stay up to date with her latest articles.