A Wood County grand jury has indicted a 22-year-old Toledo man on an involuntary manslaughter charge, alleging he supplied the fentanyl-related drug that killed a 50-year-old former Toledo Storm hockey player in April, the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune reported. The indictment against Riley Leu was returned on Wednesday, October 21, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Leu faces four counts in the case: involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony; corrupting another with drugs, a second-degree felony; trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony; and trafficking in cocaine, also a fifth-degree felony, according to the indictment as reported by the newspaper.
The indictment alleges that on April 3, 2026, Leu furnished, administered or caused the man to use a fentanyl-related compound, and that the man died on April 4. It also alleges Leu trafficked in a fentanyl-related compound and in less than five grams of cocaine on April 3. The man who died had played for the Toledo Storm, the former minor-league hockey team; the Sentinel-Tribune did not publish his name.
An indictment is a formal charge, not a finding of guilt. Leu is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in a court of law, and the allegations will be tested as the case moves through Wood County Common Pleas Court.
Leu already faces a separate felonious assault charge, a second-degree felony, in Wood County. In that case, Bowling Green police were flagged down on March 3 in the 100 block of North Main Street on a report of a man lying on his back, bleeding from his head and mouth. Police said downtown camera footage showed a suspect approach the man from the side and punch him, knocking him backward into the street, and officers identified Leu from images posted on social media. Court documents say the man needed two head staples and reconstructive jaw surgery.
According to the newspaper, Leu failed to appear for a pretrial hearing in the assault case in August and was back in court in October on the failure-to-appear matter, with bond set at his own recognizance. A final pretrial in the assault case is set for November 30, and a jury trial is scheduled to begin December 16.
The manslaughter case reflects a pattern Ohio prosecutors have used increasingly in recent years: pursuing suppliers when a fentanyl-related death follows a drug sale. Anyone with information on Leu’s whereabouts is asked to contact local law enforcement. No arraignment date in the new case had been announced as the warrant remained outstanding.
Photo: Mbrickn, CC BY-SA