An Ernest man will serve time in state prison after entering a “no contest” plea to a charge of felony Voluntary Manslaughter on Friday.
Indiana County District Attorney Robert Manzi said 36-year-old Andrew Rankin will serve four-and-a-half to 21 years of a supervised sentence for the no contest plea. He also pleaded guilty to a felony charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance with the intent to deliver stemming from a purchase of narcotics in 2019.
A victim, who was not named in reports, attempted to buy three stamp bags of narcotics from Rankin, but they were found dead with the bags shortly after the two talked. On them were personalized stamps, which were traced back to Rankin after it was found on bags sold to other individuals.
Rankin’s sentence will run concurrently with one he’s already serving for an unrelated charge of possession with intent to deliver.
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