Miller Sentenced to 3 Year's in Heroin Death

In an emotional hearing lasting nearly an hour, Tricia Miller was sentenced to three years in prison for
her role in the heroin overdose death of Daniel Patton Jr.
Miller, 29, Bowling Green, appeared Friday before Wood County Common Pleas Judge Alan Mayberry.
“I do not, nor will I ever, forgive her for her role in my son’s passing,” said Patton’s mother, Yolanda
Patton-Trimble, as she tearfully read a statement before the court.
Family and friends of both parties packed the gallery of the courtroom; many on the Patton family side
wore T-shirts emblazoned with a photograph of Patton and the words “In Loving Memory, Daniel Thomas
Patton Jr., ‘Danner,’ 1983-2014.”
Miller was indicted this spring on one count of involuntary manslaughter after the March 1, 2014,
overdose death of Patton, 30, in Bowling Green. Miller had reportedly sold 0.4 grams of the drug to
Patton for $100.
She later pleaded to the reduced charge of reckless homicide.
Miller’s lawyer, Steven Spitler, noted that she is the mother of two children and, after her arrest,
underwent multiple drug treatment programs, including extra relapse prevention.
“All she can do is look at her old life and try and see how she can make it better,” said Spitler.
Family and friends of Patton offered statements prior to sentencing, including his father, Daniel Patton
Sr., who recounted how he, his son Jake, and his grandson found him unresponsive on the floor of their
bathroom.
“My grandson and son had to see that,” he said.
“When I speak today, it’s coming from him. I don’t speak of hate, I don’t speak of payback or anything
else. I’m up here speaking for my son.”
“I miss Danner each and every day.”
Patton-Trimble, in her statement, spoke of the trauma that her son’s death has caused her and her family.

“Christmas this year and every year hereafter will always be especially painful,” she said.
Of Miller, she said “her life has not been horrifically altered as mine has.”
“She is not the typical dealer … she is the last person to suspect selling drugs. And she used that to
her advantage.”
Gwen Howe-Gebers, who prosecuted the case, indicated that authorities currently are debating how such
cases should be handled, but said “we shouldn’t also say, just because they’re an addict, we shouldn’t
punish those who then sell.”
She asked for the maximum 3-year sentence for Miller.
Miller appeared stricken throughout the proceedings, often shaking or weeping. Just before Mayberry
imposed sentence, she could be seen wringing her fists, or grasping at a necklace with both hands.
“I’m so sorry for what happened to Danner,” she said when given the opportunity for a statement. “He was
a very good friend. I knew him for a long time and we went through a lot together.”
“I committed a serious crime, and that crime resulted in the death of a friend.”
“Heroin is killing more people in Wood County than any other cause,” Mayberry said, “and you are partly
responsible for that.”
He added that “you’re part of the pain that has been caused to many, many families in our county.”
Mayberry noted Miller sold the heroin to Patton, knowing that he had been clean for seven months.
“It didn’t matter to you. You sold to him anyway,” and, Mayberry said, kept selling to others even after
she knew Patton had died.
She was immediately taken into custody after sentence was pronounced.