Man pleads guilty to manslaughter in North Richland Hills fentanyl overdose death
A man who had been indicted on a murder charge in connection with a North Richland Hills fentanyl overdose death pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a state district court to manslaughter.
Steven Strinko admitted that in January 2024 he recklessly caused the death of Stephan McMullen.
Adhering to a plea agreement that the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office reached with Strinko, Judge Andy Porter, who presides in Criminal District Court No. 4, sentenced Strinko to six years in prison.
Strinko delivered the fentanyl to a third person, Gary Hughes, before it reached McMullen, authorities allege. Hughes remains under indictment on a murder count in the case.
McMullen, who was 35, died on Jan. 25, 2024, at a residence in the 900 block of Lincolnshire Lane, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Had Strinko been found guilty of murder at trial as a repeat felony offender, a jury or judge would have assessed punishment at between 15 and 99 years, or life, in prison.
