Canonsburg Man Faces Trial On Drug Charges

A Canonsburg man faced his preliminary hearing Friday on three felony drug charges. John Backner, 57 opted to have his charges held for court without a hearing. He faces drug delivery resulting in death, possession and criminal use of a communications device charges. According to the criminal complaint, Backner was the individual responsible for obtaining and delivering a fatal dose of heroin to Sean Caldwell, 41 of Southview in October of 2023. Police were able to tie Backner to Caldwell’s death through text messages between the two in the hours leading up to Caldwell’s death regarding the purchase of heroin by Caldwell from Backner. A coroner’s report verified that Caldwell died from fentanyl and cocaine toxicity. Backner remains in the Washington County Jail on $500,000 bond.