( CNN ) -- Earlier this week , New York police arrested four people suspected of selling heroin to actor Philip Seymour Hoffman , who later died from a heroin overdose . But the police have n't yet connected them to the drugs that killed Hoffman . Assuming law enforcement does -- and they might because the actor 's telephone number was found on the cell phone belonging to one of the suspects -- can those suspects be held responsible for Hoffman 's death ? The simple answer is no . But that does n't mean whoever sold heroin to Hoffman would be exempt from a heap of trouble . In New York , homicide is defined as `` conduct which causes the death of a person . '' But not all homicides are the same . Homicide is defined in several `` grades , '' ranging from criminally negligent homicide to manslaughter to actual murder . All share one basic requirement : intent to cause death or , at least , death arising from grossly negligent or reckless conduct . In layman 's terms , that means you either have to mean to kill someone , or know there 's a risk of death and do n't care about it . By all accounts , the people who police believe sold heroin to Hoffman were ordinary drug dealers plying their illicit trade . They may not have cared who they sold to . They may not have cared that Hoffman had a history of drug and alcohol problems . And they may not have cared that they were feeding demons that had taken hold of Hoffman . But it 's also unlikely that those alleged dealers intended or believed that anyone , including Hoffman , would die using their product . Prosecutors also generally do n't hold drug peddlers responsible for the consequences of their dealing , so it 's unlikely that lawyers from the Manhattan District Attorney 's Office believed the dealers did . The people who police accuse of selling heroin to Hoffman could not even be charged with felony murder -- that is , a death happening during the course of committing another offense -- because New York 's felony murder law only applies to robbery , burglary , rape and similar violent crimes . Still , those suspects could face serious legal problems . Police found 350 glassine bags of heroin at the time of their arrest , which , if found to belong to the suspects , strongly suggests they intended to sell them . After all , that amount of smack is a lot for personal use . So , at the very least , a seller who supplied heroin to someone who overdosed could be charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree because he or she `` knowingly and unlawfully '' possessed heroin `` with intent to sell it . '' That crime is punishable by up to 8â… “ to 25 years . If police link them to the heroin that killed Hoffman , they also could be charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree because they `` knowingly and unlawfully '' sold heroin . That crime also is punishable by up to 8â… “ to 25 years . These penalties are , of course , the maximum sentences that could be imposed . If convicted of those crimes , though , those alleged dealers will surely spend time behind bars . Both statutes also carry mandatory minimum sentences of one to three years . The police in New York have already made examples out of the dealers suspected of selling heroin to Hoffman . They spent enormous resources to quickly hunt them down . For better or worse , it 's doubtful that that level of effort was expended for anyone else who died of a drug overdose in New York in the past several years . And there were plenty of them -- 541 in 2010 , 630 in 2011 and 730 in 2012 . Now it 's up to the prosecutors in New York . If they , too , want to make examples of suspected dealers , ample tools exist to put them behind bars for a very long time . It 's just that they wo n't be locked up on homicide charges . Legally speaking , it was Philip Seymour Hoffman who was responsible for his own death , even if drug dealers sold him the means to that end . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writers .
Writers : If suspects sold heroin to Hoffman , can they be held for his death ? Not likely . Writers : ` ` Homicide '' means you meant to kill , or know there 's a risk of death and do n't care . Comment: Writers : It 's doubtful any of the hundreds who overdose each year will get that attention .