A federal prosecutor and attorneys representing two men connected to the 2015 cocaine overdose death of the Manhasset doctor Kiersten Cerveny are in talks for a potential plea deal, according to Manhattan federal court filings.
David Abramowicz, an assistant U.S. attorney, filed an affidavit last week requesting a 30-day continuance to the preliminary hearing for Marc Henry Johnson, an HBO producer, and James Holder, an alleged cocaine dealer.
“The government and defense counsel have communicated about a possible disposition of this case,” Abramowicz said in the affidavit. “However, no agreement on a potential disposition is anticipated before the deadline under the Speedy Trial Act expires on June 24, 2016.”
He added that a 30-day continuance would be enough time to reach a plea deal and that defense counsel agreed to the continuance as well.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman granted the request for a July 25 court date on June 24.
Johnson was arrested on May 25 and faces one charge of attempting to sell cocaine and one charge of accessory-after-the-fact for his role in moving Cerveny’s body after she had a drug overdose at Holder’s apartment.
He and Holder, who is charged with selling narcotics, took Cerveny’s body to the lobby of an apartment building in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood after she died of a cocaine overdose on Oct. 4, 2015, according to the criminal complaint filed last month.
The charges against Johnson and Holder stemmed from a seven-month investigation into the death of the 38-year-old doctor, according to the criminal complaint.
Cerveny, who practiced at Prohealth Care Associates LLP at 2 Hillside Ave. in Williston Park, had reportedly gone out with friends earlier in the evening but later met with Johnson, the 51-year-old HBO producer.
The two went to a 16th Street address, allegedly where Holder lived, and the producer reportedly called 911 to notify authorities of Cerveny’s death before fleeing the scene toward Eighth Avenue.
Cerveny was discovered unconscious and unresponsive around 8:30 a.m. in the vestibule of the building, located at West 16th Street near Seventh Avenue, according to published reports.
She was later pronounced dead at Lenox Health Greenwich Hospital.
Cerveny died from “acute cocaine and alcohol intoxication,” according to the New York City Medical Examiner’s office.
Johnson was released on a $300,000 bond on May 25 and is due back in court on July 25.
Holder was detained without bail and is also due back in court on July 25.
Neither of the two men have been charged with Cerveny’s death.
Efforts to reach Johnson’s attorney, Lee Ginsburg, were unavailing.
