Plea in Fentanyl Case following Death

ROXBURY – District Attorney Shawn Smith announced today that Renee Cortese, 35, of Grand Gorge, NY, pleaded guilty in Roxbury Town Court on April 2, 2025, to one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, a Class A Misdemeanor, and was sentenced to 90 days of incarceration in the Delaware County Jail.

On January 8, 2023, Margaretville State Troopers were responding to an unattended death investigation at an apartment building on State Highway 30 in the Town of Roxbury.  At the scene, Cortese was found to be in possession of a controlled substance in her vest pocket that later tested positive for fentanyl.

District Attorney Shawn Smith stated: “Offenders should know that my office is committed to pursuing charges of even a misdemeanor level to the end, even on cases where somehow the defendant avoided appearing in court on numerous occasions.”  Smith noted that Cortese was originally charged on February 21, 2024, for this crime.  Smith continued, “We are committed to working with law enforcement to remove all illegal drugs from our community.”