Rochester man convicted of drug delivery resulting in death of Bradford woman

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A Rochester man was convicted of crimes related to the death of a Bradford woman due to a fatal overdose in 2021, the McKean County District Attorney's Office announced.

Officials said Brady Pysadee was charged on June 17, 2021, after authorities were dispatched to a call of cardiac arrest at an apartment on East Main Street in Bradford. Upon arrival, officers saw that Mercedes Simonds was unresponsive, according to the district attorney's office.

Resuscitation efforts were made by the caller, EMS and police, but Simonds was pronounced deceased upon her arrival at BRMC, officials said. An autopsy and toxicology report showed she died from a drug overdose mostly caused by fentanyl.

Witnesses said Simonds was contacted by Pysadee and they made arrangements to meet on the night of June 16, officials said. According to the district attorney's office, they met in Pysadee's vehicle and a "third party" said Simonds' "demeanor" changed after exiting his vehicle.

Officials said Simonds stated that she "did a line of something brown" with Pysadee and thought it was heroin. The "third party" also received the same drugs that Pysadee gave to Simonds and reported that he became "violently ill," the district attorney's office said.

When Simonds returned to the bar/restaurant she was in earlier that night, she became "increasingly ill" from the drug, including vomiting, officials said. She tried to reach out to Pysadee, but received no response, the district attorney's office said.

When witnesses tried to get her medical attention, she said she needed to go to sleep, officials said. A witness took her to an apartment nearby and checked on her periodically. He didn't notice signs of a fatal overdose, but saw that her breathing changed to snoring and then into gurgling, when she then went into cardiac arrest, officials said.

Pysadee was charged with the following and convicted of all counts:

• drug delivery resulting in death
• involuntary manslaughter
• delivering a controlled substance (on two occasions on June 16, 2021)
• possession of a controlled substance
• recklessly endangering another person

He was remanded to the McKean County Jail following a two-day jury trial. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 17.