Ashland County Common Pleas Court, as photographed on Aug. 14, 2024. Credit: Dillon Carr

ASHLAND — A Mansfield man has been found responsible for an Ashland death that happened last October, according to court filings. 

Seth Walter Hinton, 25, faces an involuntary manslaughter charge, along with two counts of corrupting another with drugs and an aggravated trafficking in drugs charge.

An Ashland County grand jury indicted Hinton on Aug. 12.

The indictment alleges Hinton’s actions on Oct. 3, 2023 in Ashland County led to the death of one person. The victim’s name has been redacted from court filings because of Marsy’s Law, said Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell.

Marsy’s Law, also known as the Ohio Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights, protects the rights of crime victims in the criminal justice system.

Jenny Taylor, an investigator with the Ashland County Coroner’s Office, said there was only one death reported on Oct. 3, 2023 in Ashland County: Andre Harrison

Harrison was 19 and an Ashland High School senior when he died. 

Andre’s father, Jeremy, declined to comment for this story.

Dr. Dale Thomae, Ashland County’s coroner, ruled Harrison’s death accidental in a March verdict. The cause: cardiorespiratory arrest and fentanyl toxicity. 

Hinton is being held at Ashland County Jail on a $300,000 cash bond. He was recently sentenced to 36 months of probation for drug charges stemming out of Richland County, according to that court’s public filings.

Hinton’s attorney, Don Wick, is scheduled to meet with Ashland County Common Pleas Judge Dave Stimpert on Oct. 11. 

Wick could not be reached for comment.

Lead reporter for Ashland Source who happens to own more bikes than pairs of jeans. His coverage focuses on city and county government, and everything in between. He lives in Mansfield with his wife and...