Westfield

Manslaughter charge for Lombard-Hawthorne


SPRINGFIELD – Seth Lombard-Hawthorne, the man accused of selling heroin to a Westfield girl who died from an overdose, has been indicted for manslaughter.
James Leydon, public and media relations director for Hampden County District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni, confirmed today that Lombard-Hawthorne would go before a grand jury with the new charge.
“He has been indicted for manslaughter,” Leydon said.
Lombard-Hawthorne, 22, of 5 Meadow Street, Apartment 1 in Westfield, was arrested shortly after 5:30 p.m. Feb. 6 by Westfield Police Department and Massachusetts State Police assigned to Gulluni’s office on charges of distribution of Class A and B drug and possession of Class A and B drug just hours after Westfield High School 11th-grader Lillian (Lily) Anderson, 16, was found dead from a suspected heroin/fentanyl overdose.
“Pending an autopsy, the Commonwealth is contemplating an additional charge of manslaughter based on a series of events, circumstances and facts leading up to the death of this young lady and (pending) post-death investigation by Westfield police and Mass State Police,” Assistant District Attorney Edward Kivari told Westfield District Court Judge Philip Contant last month.
“I would like to thank both the Westfield Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police detectives who are assigned to my office for the quick and thorough investigation which led to the arrest of Seth Lombard-Hawthorne,” said Gulluni. “For those who wish to profit from addiction, take notice, you will be aggressively prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Seth Lombard-Hawthorne will be arraigned in Hampden County Superior within the next couple weeks.
This is the second time that the District Attorney’s office has charged an alleged heroin dealer with manslaughter in an overdose death. Daryl Wojtowicz of Springfield was charged with the overdose death of 33-year-old Kaitlyn Leonard of Ludlow earlier this month.
Westfield Police Sgt. Steve Dickinson told Westfield News media partner 22News that it’s not easy connecting an alleged drug dealer to a victim, due to limited evidence,
“We collect the evidence, cell phones, etc., and we process the scene and investigate as much as we can,” he said.
Anderson’s overdose death was one of of three in six days. Dickinson said there haven’t been other multiple overdoses since then, but the heroin is still out there.
Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan said getting dealers off the street is crucial to preventing more deaths.
“They should be accountable for what they’re doing with the selling of the drugs,” said Sullivan. “They’re part of the problem. It’s just like loaded guns and everything else. We’re losing too many people right now.”
Sullivan said the focus now is on education about the dangers of prescription drugs, which can be a gateway for heroin. He’s using a nearby hospital and the school system to educate everyone, especially kids.
Sullivan added that he’ll continue to use these resources to educate the public and reduce the addiction crisis in his city.

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