Police charge Lancaster man with delivering drugs that lead to overdose death

A Lancaster city man faces felony charges of delivering drugs that resulted in the death of a Martic Township man in April.

State police have charged Jason Ramos-Malave, 29, with delivering drugs to Michael Anthony Montijo, of Martic Township, who was found dead in his home in April. The Lancaster County Coroner's Office ruled Montijo's cause of death to be acute toxicity of cocaine and doxepin, an antidepressant. The coroner ruled Montijo's death to be suicide.

Security footage shows Montijo meeting up with a third man, Gerald Richard Roark-Eshelman, at a Walgreens in Lancaster four days before Montijo's body was discovered by police, according to a criminal complaint. Roark-Eshelman and Montijo arranged over text to meet there to purchase drugs, the complaint said.

Using Montijo's cell phone, police arranged a transaction with Roark-Eshleman at the Walgreens, where police took Ramos-Malave and Roark-Eshlemen into custody.

Roark-Eshleman told police that he routinely purchased and delivered cocaine to Montijo, including in the days prior to police discovering Montijo's body, and that Ramos-Malave was aware that he was purchasing cocaine on behalf of a friend, according to the complaint.

Ramos-Malave faces two felony counts related to drug delivery resulting in death. Ramos is currently out on bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for next week.

Police did not say Sunday whether Roark-Eshelman was charged.