OU student indicted for giving 'shrooms to classmate who died

An Athens County grand jury has indicted a 19-year-old Ohio University student from Mansfield, Ohio on two felony counts, for allegedly providing drugs to another student who died after leaping or falling from a dormitory window April 28.

County Prosecutor C. David Warren said in a news conference Tuesday that to convict James Tyler Wagers of involuntary manslaughter, the state will need to show that he provided 20-year-old Eric Hansen with psilocybin, and that the drug's effect on Hansen contributed to his fatal accident.

The manslaughter charge is a first-degree felony, with a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Wagers also has been charged with aggravated drug trafficking, a fourth-degree felony that carries a maximum 18-month sentence.

At the time of Tuesday's announcement, he was being held in Huron County on an Athens County arrest warrant, with an extradition hearing scheduled.

The essence of the state's case against Wagers, Warren said, is that the disorientation caused by a powerful hallucinogen "is what would cause someone to go out a fourth-floor window."

Warren called this a "but-for" argument "“ "What we have to establish is, the death would not have occurred without the drugs," he explained "But for the drugs, this would not have happened."

An autopsy of Hansen's body showed that he had psilocybin in his system at the time of his death. OU Police Chief Andrew Powers, whose department investigated the case and who attended Tuesday's news conference, said to his knowledge Wagers had never been arrested prior to this incident.

Warren said that the night of Hansen's fatal fall, "my understanding is, there was some sort of a get-together in his dorm room" in OU's Weld House residence hall. He stressed that authorities are not alleging that anyone pushed Hansen out the window.

OU Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said that Wagers had just completed his first year at OU, and was signed up to return for classes in the fall. Given his indictment, however, Lombardi said, university officials will now review possible disciplinary action, which could include sending Wagers' case to Judiciaries, or suspending him immediately as a potential threat to the student body.

"We'll now take a look at all the options that are available to us," he said.

In a news release, OU has said the case "has been a heartbreaking issue on so many different levels. We have lost a student to drug use and another student is being held responsible for the issues surrounding his death."

The release also stated that since Wagers' case is now in the hands of the justice system, "we will refrain from any speculation on this case until a decision is made."