Drug dealer in fentanyl death remains behind bars

Wednesday, August 16, 2023 at 9:08 AM

All the claims were rebutted by the attorney general team

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and his legal team prevailed this month when the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of a 53-year-old Indianapolis man who provided fentanyl to a 28-year-old co-worker from Zionsville that caused the younger man’s death.

“Drug dealers continue to devastate Indiana communities and break the hearts of Hoosier families,” Attorney General Rokita said. “While no one can undo the grief caused by these perpetrators, I’m constantly proud of our appeals team for their excellent work in making sure that lawbreakers’ criminal convictions are upheld.”

Attorney General Rokita’s appeals team plays an important role in a larger process of making sure justice is served, he noted.

“Indiana’s brave police officers are first to respond to dangerous crime scenes,” Attorney General Rokita said. “They conduct investigations and arrest suspects. Then local prosecutors do their part by securing criminal convictions in trial courts. At that point, our staff is honored to support and sustain the good work of police and prosecutors.”

In this case, drug dealer Kurt Russell provided illegal substances to Maxwell Timbrook in 2020 after the two met while working at the same discount retail store. Timbrook died after taking the drugs, which included fentanyl. His mother found him lying in the floor of his father’s Zionsville home, where Timbrook lived. In 2022, Russell was convicted of dealing a controlled substance resulting in death and sentenced to 25 years.

After his conviction, Russell claimed the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence found on a cell phone. Russell also claimed the trial court failed to present sufficient evidence to prove that Russell delivered fentanyl to Timbrook and that Timbrook died after ingesting fentanyl provided by Russell.

Attorney General Rokita’s appeals team successfully rebutted those claims.

Attached is the Indiana Appeals Court’s ruling in this case.