Four charged in overdose death of South Union man
Four people are being charged in connection with the overdose death of a South Union Township man last August.
State police found Tab Michael Softa, 63, lying dead in his front yard the morning of Aug. 24. A neighbor provided surveillance footage that showed a car picking up Softa at about 9:15 a.m. and dropping him back off 15 minutes later.
According to the court records, the footage showed Softa collapsing and convulsing after he got out of the car. The driver left without assisting or calling 911.
Police believe the driver of the vehicle to be Perry Lee Leapline, 61, of Vanderbilt. According to the criminal complaints, also in the car was Charles Gregory Swink, 61, of Lemont Furnace.
Investigators searched Softa’s phone and found text messages exchanged with Swink that morning in which Swink says he and Leapline will pick him up.
According to the complaints, Leapline told police he purchased the heroin from Brandon Christopher Zinsky, 45, of Uniontown, at his Collins Avenue apartment.
Also living at the apartment was Rebecca Anne Brennsteiner, 49. Police served a search warrant at their home in September and found suspected heroin and a stolen gun.
Brennsteiner allegedly told police that Leapline had been to their apartment to buy heroin around the time Softa died, court documents state.
All four individuals face felony charges of drug delivery resulting in death and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
District Judge Jennifer Jeffries released Leapline on $50,000 unsecured bond following his arraignment Monday. She sent Swink to the Fayette County jail on $10,000 bond, while bond for Brennsteiner and Zinsky was set at $20,000.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 16.