Nov. 19, 66-year-old Beaumont resident Harry Francis Lowenthal appeared before Judge Raquel West in the 252nd District Court, rejecting the state’s plea bargain agreement for a 35-year sentence for manslaughter in the April 15, 2023, death of John Marion Janice, as well as a 15-year offer for the state jail felony offense of possession of a controlled substance stemming from an Oct. 26, 2023, arrest after Janice’s death.
Represented by Nathan Reynolds, Lowenthal received news that Jefferson County prosecutor Tommy Coleman intended to file a notice of habitual offender, which will increase the punishment range for each charge due to multiple previous felony convictions including burglary and drug possession, which would allow for a punishment of up to 99 years or life should he be found guilty.
Lowenthal is currently standing accused of providing Janice heroin laced with fentanyl, which led to his death.
During a search of Lowenthal’s residence, officers discovered a firearm, $5,000 and a small amount of suspected heroin and fentanyl, along with indicators of drug trafficking, including plastic baggies, a digital scale and lactose powder commonly used to “bulk up” drugs, police reported. A subsequent lab analysis of the drugs, police further reported, confirmed the confiscated drugs amounted to approximately 19 grams of a fentanyl/heroin mix.
March 25, Lowenthal pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, fentanyl, before U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone. The court accepted his plea but deferred acceptance of a plea agreement at the time. Nov. 12, Lowenthal received a 50-month federal prison sentence.
“Fentanyl, even in small amounts, is a potent synthetic opioid, approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin,” said Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs. “This office, working closely with our state and federal law enforcement partners, will continue to prosecute and seek to hold accountable drug dealers who distribute this poison and exploit addictions in the Eastern District of Texas.”
A press conference held April 24 by Jefferson County District Attorney Keith Giblin, as well as members of local and national law enforcement, announced the prosecution of Lowenthal and Dalton Batiste for deaths related to the distribution of fentanyl-laced drugs.
Batiste’s indictment on two counts of murder for the Jan. 10 deaths of Aaron Sanchez and Matthew Kreiss was the first of its kind in Jefferson County following a change of state law in September 2023 which, under House Bill 6, allows prosecutors to charge murder against individuals who supply fentanyl resulting in a death. Batiste is scheduled for an announcement before Judge West on Jan. 14.