PAWNEE COUNTY —A Kansas man had admitted his role in the 2015 drug related death of a 33-year-old man in Larned.

On Tuesday,  James Allen Roe, 58, Larned, waived his preliminary hearing in District Court and entered a no contest plea to involuntary manslaughter, a severity level 5 person felony, according to the Pawnee County Attorney.

Authorities originally charged Roe with one count of distribution of a controlled substance causing death alleged to have occurred in Pawnee County on or about July 27, 2015.

The controlled substance alleged to have been distributed was a fentanyl transdermal patch. The charge stems from an ongoing investigation by the Larned Police Department and Coroner Dr. Lyle Noordhoek related to the accidental overdose death of Ryan J. Henderson.

Henderson was found non-responsive at his residence in Larned the morning of July 28, 2015.  He was 33 at the time of this death.

Larned Police Department arrested Roe at his home on January 30, 2018, without incident. He currently released on a supervised bond. Sentencing has been scheduled for June 25.