Politics & Government

Lakewood Man Sentenced to 4 Years for Manslaughter Charge

Donald Lanum injected heroin into the arm of another Lakewood man who later overdosed. Lanum pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in April.

A 29-year-old Lakewood man, who accidentally killed a 44-year-old man with a lethal injection of heroin earlier this year, has been sentenced to four years in prison.

In April, Donald Lanum pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

According to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office, Lanum injected heroin into the arm of Freddie Fordyce while at a Halstead Avenue apartment on Jan. 23.

An acquaintance of Fordyce found him lying on the couch without a pulse.  Lakewood Police arrested Lanum the next day.

He’d been held in the Cuyahoga County jail since.

According to Lakewood Municipal Court records, Lanum was found guilty of misdemeanor charges of possessing drug paraphernalia and a hypodermic needle in June 2011.  

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