Not Guilty – Jury Clears McDermott Man in Overdose Death
An Scioto County jury returned a not guilty verdict in the case of a McDermott man charged with manslaughter in the overdose death of his cellmate Cory Willian Cantrell at the Scioto County Jail.
Portsmouth Police arrested Steel back in June of 2022. Officers put him through a scanner to check for contraband and then placed him in a holding cell. However, that scan missed the fentanyl Steele had on his person.
Steele had previously been arrested 37 times, including 5 previous times in 2022 alone. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections released him on parole for Assault and Burglary charges back in September of 2021. According to jail records, he was arrested 4 times for parole violations.
When Steele was let out on bail, he left the drugs behind. His three cellmates later overdosed on the dangerous drug. When corrections officers found 23-year-old Cory William Cantrell unresponsive in his cell, they immediately provided emergency medical treatment and sent for an ambulance.
First responders transported Cantrell to Southern Ohio Medical Center, but he was pronounced dead. His body was sent for autopsy in Montgomery County.
Investigators were able to determine what happened by interviewing other inmates, watching camera footage, and interviewing the jail staff.
The jury did convict him on drug charges, but those were lower-level felonies with minimal possible jail sentencing.