By Shereen Siewert
A 38-year-old man is facing felony charges in connection with the near-fatal overdose of a Wausau man.
Shannon L. Reedy already had a long history of drug-related convictions and had two pending cases in Marathon County when he allegedly sold heroin to 36-year-old Andrew Farrar, who then provided the drugs to a man who overdosed on Aug. 5.
According to the incident report, crews responded to a 911 hangup call at a home in the 200 block of North Sixth Avenue and discovered an unresponsive man lying on the couch. Emergency responders performed life-saving measures that ultimately saved the man, who was then transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Investigators traced the drugs to Reedy and say Farrar purchased the drugs from Reedy shortly before the overdose, according to court filings.
Reedy faces charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and heroin delivery, both felony charges that carry significant penalties. During an initial appearance Dec. 4 in Marathon County Circuit Court, Judge Suzanne O’Neill ordered Reedy held on a $1,000 cash bond.
In a connected case, Farrar was convicted in November of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and delivering heroin and was sentenced to four years in prison followed by four years extended supervision, but the sentence was stayed for five years of probation. That means Farrar can avoid prison if he succeeds on probation.
But Reedy has already been sentenced to prison for charges filed in 2019 and earlier in 2020.
Court records show Reedy already facing charges in a 2019 arrest when the overdose happened, then was arrested on separate drug trafficking charges one month later. On Nov. 13, Reedy was convicted of possession of heroin with intent to deliver, possession of narcotic drugs, possession of methamphetamine and obstruction and was sentenced to three years in prison.
A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 16.
