BATTLE CREEK (WKZO-AM) — A Battle Creek man with four previous drug convictions could get up to life after dumping an overdose victim in the snow and cold where he was later found dead.
35-year-old Jerell Finch is charged with delivering heroin causing death and being a repeat offender.
The victim, 43-year old Michael Newman of Dowling was found dead along 5th Avenue last Wednesday in a business park just off 30th Street in Springfield, where police claim he had been left after overdosing at Finch’s place on Eldred Street.
A man who was passing by spotted him and called 9-1-1. Newman was not wearing shoes when his body was recovered.
A magistrate increased Finch’s bond from $200,000 to $300,000 after reviewing the charges.