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Slidell drug dealer stops trial to plead guilty in heroin overdose case

43-year-old Oren Rapp Bowens pleaded guilty mid-trial to manslaughter, heroin possession, and distrubuting heroin or buprenorphine.

COVINGTON, La. — Prosecutors say a Slidell drug dealer stopped a trial against him to plead guilty to manslaughter in connection to an overdose death in 2017.

District Attorney Warren Montgomery said Thursday that 43-year-old Oren Rapp Bowens pleaded guilty mid-trial to manslaughter, heroin possession, and distrubuting heroin or buprenorphine.

Prosecutors say Bowens' trial began on Monday, but he stopped the trial to enter his guilty plea before his defense began. District Judge William Burris then sentenced him to a total of 50 years in prison for the charges.

In October 2017, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office began investigating a Slidell woman's death. Authorities say the woman's boyfriend bought heroin from Bowens and shared it with her hours later. The boyfriend later found the woman suffering a medical emergency and took her to a hospital.

Investigators say the woman died at the hospital after being diagnosed with a brain abscess. The St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office later said the abscess was exacerbated by heroin toxicity, which caused her death.

Bowens' attorney, Barry S. Ranshi, said the defense was prepared to challenge the coroner's findings with their own expert witness, but because Bowens was a multiple offender under Louisiana law, any felony conviction (including the drug charges) would have resulted in a life sentence.

"We believe Mr. Bowens' decision to accept the State's officer was absolutely in his best interest, considering he risked spending the rest of his life in the Louisiana Department of Corrections," Ranshi said.

Prosecutors say the woman's father supported the guilty plea and sentencing, giving an impact statement chiding drug dealers that prey on addicts.

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