Santa Rosa man sentenced to 16 years after 2 friends overdose on meth

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - A Santa Rosa man who operated a drug house has been sentenced to 16 years in state prison after two men died from overdoses as a result of ingesting narcotics at his residence, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

Toby Rosa, 50, was found guilty in April 2021 of two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of Wiliam Coffey and Jayson Taylor, men who had known Rosa since high school.   

According to the District Attorney's Office, on March 9, 2018, Rosa became aware that Coffey had overdosed in his Midway Drive home yet refused to call 911.

Prosecutors also said that Rosa "directed others not to call for help," dropped Coffey off at a hospital but "fled" without giving medical staff any information.   

Taylor visited Rosa's house on March 26, 2018, and also overdosed in his living room, prosecutors said. 

Rosa again refused to call 911 and a cellphone video of Rosa injecting Taylor with methamphetamine in an attempt to revive him was presented at trial. 

Several hours later, a friend of Taylor took him to the hospital, but he never regained consciousness and died three days later.

Detectives searched Rosa's home in April 2018 and gathered evidence of drug use and manufacturing.

In addition to the manslaughter counts, Rosa was found guilty of administering methamphetamine causing great bodily injury, keeping a house for drug use, and possession of methamphetamine.