MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER FOR PROVIDING HEROIN TO FRIEND

BLOUNTVILLE -- In the first case of its kind in Sullivan County, a man was
convicted Friday of second-degree murder for providing heroin to a friend
who overdosed and died. Russell Wayne Canter, 48, of Bristol Virginia was
sentenced to 18 years in prison and will spend much of that time behind
bars, prosecutors said. In such cases, defendants must serve at least 85
percent of their sentences.

That would make Canter eligible for release in late 2016. He had faced a
maximum of 25 years.

Canter was found guilty of providing the lethal heroin dose to 23-year-old
Seth Guyer of Blountville. Prosecutors said Canter gave Guyer the heroin on
Oct. 30, 1998, at the Bristol Tennessee apartment where Canter lived at the
time. The sentence was part of a plea bargain offered by prosecutors.
Assistant District Attorney General Barry Staubus said the deal was made to
bring the case to a close; trial had been delayed six times. "We consulted
with the family (of Guyer) and got their approval," Staubus said. "We
wanted some finality, some closure for the family." Canter entered into
what's known as an Alford plea Friday -- three days before the case was to
be heard by a jury. In such pleas, defendants do not admit guilt but
concede the state has enough evidence to convict. After Guyer died, police
said, Canter moved the body to a remote Holston Mountain campground in an
effort to hide the crime. Guyer's family reported him missing Nov. 1, 1998,
but his body was not found for several days. Hunters discovered his remains
in his truck in mid-November that year. Canter was convicted earlier of
drug-dealing charges stemming from the investigation of Guyer's death.

As part of Friday's plea deal, that 10-year term will be served at the same
time as the murder sentence. Staubus said it was the first time Sullivan
County prosecutors have used the state law that provides for a murder
charge in such drug deaths. "We hope we send a message that if a person
provides heroin or any Schedule I or II drug to someone and they die, we
are going to prosecute them for murder," he said.