Negotiated plea in works for woman charged in heroin overdose death

From left, defendant Jennifer Harriman, defense attorney Heather Ward and prosecutor Tim Sullivan; inset, Jason Danner. (The Lebanon Voice photo; inset, Courtesy photo),

DOVER, N.H. - The Gonic woman indicted in the heroin overdose death of a Rochester man is in the process of reaching a plea deal with the state, according to her defense attorney and the prosecutor in the case.

Jennifer Harriman, 34, of 141 Flagg Road, was indicted in March 2015, charged with dispensing of a controlled drug, heroin, that resulted in death, a charge that can draw up to life in prison.

Assistant County Attorney Tim Sullivan said details of the plea still have to be fine-tuned, but he expects they will be ironed out by June 13 when Harriman's next hearing is scheduled.

Should a plea be made that day, the sentencing would be scheduled for July 28.

Jason Danner, known fondly by friends and family as "Captain Redbeard" for his flowing, full beard, overdosed from the heroin on June 23, a Monday.

Doctors at Frisbie Memorial Hospital induced a coma in an effort to save him, but on Wednesday his mom, Debbi Danner, of Rochester, was told it was hopeless and they took him off life support. His heart didn't stop beating, however, till the following Monday, making for a week of misery and despair for family and friends who held vigils in hopes he would somehow miraculously recover.

To read an earlier Lebanon Voice article about Danner's life and death, click here.