Man charged in teen’s death pleads not guilty

A Newton man charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Nov. 12 death of 19-year-old Mingo resident Shasta Sapp entered a plea of not guilty during a bond hearing Monday in Jasper County District Court.

Wyatt Andrew Franklin, 19, who is accused of preparing and supplying the Mingo teen with a lethal dose of the narcotic pain killer oxymorphone, still is being held without bond this morning at the Jasper County Jail. Online court records indicate that Franklin petitioned the court during Monday’s 9:30 a.m. review to grant him the ability to post bond, but the request was denied by Judge Brad McCall.

Represented by attorney Sean P. Spellman, Franklin also denies controlled substance charges (a class C felony) related to the case. Jason Bissell, 21, of Colfax is accused of providing Sapp with alcohol the night of her death and was charged with supplying alcohol to a minor. He is currently free on his own recognizance.

On Dec. 21, State Medical Examiner Jonathan Thompson released Sapp ’s cause of death indicating an oxymorphone overdose. According to Jasper County Sheriff Mike Balmer, toxicology reports showed Sapp did not have alcohol in her system when medical examiners screened the victim, and the charges against Bissell were based on eye witness accounts that the 19-year-old was drinking the night of her death. The department believes the alcohol in Sapp ’s system metabolized prior to the autopsy.

Sheriff’s deputies and emergency personnel from Colfax responded to a report of an unresponsive female Nov. 12, at 866 W. 120th St. S. in Colfax. On scene, they discovered 19-year-old Sapp and transported her to Skiff Medical Center in Newton where she was pronounced dead.

The charges have put Franklin in violation of a two-year probation he is currently serving for drug related convictions he received on Sept. 26. A pretrial conference will held at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 13, and a trial is slated to begin March 7.

Mike Mendenhall can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 422 or via e-mail at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com.