Rubin “Red” Williams waits as the jurors leave with his defense attorney Paul Conn (left) and Deputy Brandon Brown after learning the jury found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter and drug trafficking. (Photo by Deanne Johnson)

LISBON — Rubin L. Williams, 38, a Youngstown area drug dealer, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and trafficking in drugs at the conclusion of a three-day Common Pleas Court jury trial regarding the fatal overdose of Jennifer Bettis of Salem in October of 2016.

After hearing closing arguments, 12 jurors spent about three and a half hours deliberating Wednesday before reaching the verdict. Sentencing has been scheduled for Friday morning, when Williams faces up to 11 years in prison.

This was the first time in Columbiana County a drug dealer was charged with being responsible for causing an overdose death. Following the verdict, Chief Assistant County Prosecutor John Gamble said he was thankful the jury got it right. Gamble noted these are not easy cases to investigate or to try, but in this particular case the prosecutors were confident.

“It was a confluence of really good police work to begin with, the fortune of having the victims phone and locating a cooperating witness, Nicole Mitchell, who really came through and put herself out there.”

Gamble said he wanted to thank the jury for their service, the Salem police for the investigation and the witnesses, especially the lay witnesses. He noted many of the people involved in drug trafficking, including Williams, are bad people, and there are always concerns about the attempted intimidation of witnesses.

There were several people addicted to drugs involved in this case, including Bettis. During closing arguments, Gamble said while he was there to represent Bettis, he cannot defend her lifestyle and did not know what led up to her becoming addicted to drugs.

“I’ve prosecuted many women just like her,” Gamble said. “I’ve helped some of them. I’ve punished some of them. But I will defend to my last day in this office Jennifer Bettis’ right to live.”

When Assistant County Prosecutor Tammie Riley Jones began the closing arguments, she said she knew some of the jurors may be thinking “yeah but Jennifer Bettis did this to herself. Nobody else administered that dose.” However, Jones said while the person using the drugs bears some of the responsibility, so do the dealers profiting from the sale of illegal drugs.

During his turn, Gamble noted while Bettis also was responsible for herself and had tried to get help, this was about Williams’ conduct.

“He plays a form of Russian roulette,” Gamble said. “He has only the slightest idea what’s in the stuff he sells. He plays the worst kind of Russian roulette. He puts the bullets in the gun and puts it up to your head instead of his own.”

Gamble and Jones said it is all about the money for Williams. It was his sole means of income and even if he no longer got drugs from Anthony Mascarella at that time, he was looking for every opportunity to make money.

“He uses his friends and girlfriend as a guinea pig,” Gamble said. “This man is a mercenary. His cause is not his friends. His cause is not his girlfriend. It’s taking care of himself.”

The prosecutors, the county coroner and investigators believe Bettis, who usually used heroin, did not realize in this case the dose contained fentanyl. The blood toxicology report showed Bettis died from a mixed drug overdose, which included nine nanograms of fentanyl. Jones told the jury five nanograms is fatal.

Referring to Williams’ own words when he took the stand, Jones said she and Williams are both in agreement — “the sale of fentanyl is despicable.” Jones reminded jurors Williams is right, fentanyl can kill you just by simple contact with it and that was why some of the evidence they would be looking at during deliberations was only photos of it and not package which had contained the drug itself.