By ANDREA VanVALKENBURG
PLATTSBURGH — An admitted drug dealer who gave painkillers to a local teen who overdosed and died was caught this week after several months on the run.
Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie announced Scott M. Miller’s arrest Tuesday, about a day after Quebec Provincial Police found him and his girlfriend, Natashia M. Bibeau, hiding along the southern shore of Montreal.
Local and Canadian authorities have been searching for Miller, 31, and Bibeau, 29, since mid-May, when the Plattsburgh couple fled the country days before Miller’s sentencing on drug charges.
Miller jumped bail before he could be sentenced for drug sale and possession relating to the June 2008 death of 17-year-old Julie Del Signore of Plattsburgh.
Shortly after the teen was found dead inside her boyfriend’s apartment, Miller was charged with providing the teen with some of the medications she took before she died.
During the investigation, police found Miller in possession of more than $65,000 worth of illegal pills.
Days before the trial, Miller pleaded guilty to three of the 13 charges against him in exchange for a negotiated sentence of four years in prison, followed by three years of post-release supervision.
Before fleeing his sentencing, authorities believe, Miller broke into a family member’s residence and stole money and other items to aid his escape.
From there, police said, Miller and Bibeau allegedly crossed into Canada, where they have remained until their arrests.
Wylie said that once Miller was located and returned to the area, he planned to ask for the maximum sentence possible, 3½ to nine years in prison followed by post-release supervision.
Bibeau has been wanted on a warrant for failing to report to parole, which is required based on her 2007 drug conviction.
Wylie said their arrests were the result of a near six-month joint investigation between Plattsburgh City Police detectives and the Quebec Provincial Police Organized Crime Division Unit.
He expects the pair to be returned to the United States within two weeks.
E-mail Andrea VanValkenburg at:
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