DEALER SENTENCED IN DRUG OVERDOSE

The 84-Month Jail Term Is Due to a Law That Allows Drug Dealers to Be
Punished When Their Clients Die.

Shane Jesmer was an expert snowboarder who dreamed of someday
competing in the Olympics.

When he broke a collarbone in 2004, he made the mistake of seeking out
a drug dealer to help him cope with the pain.

The dealer, Raoul Mahon Keith, sold him a lethal amount of methadone
and on Wednesday was sentenced to 84 months in prison under a
seldom-used state charge, "controlled substance homicide."

Keith sold the drug to Jesmer, 19, who had a fatal
overdose.

Keith, 38, of Everett, told the sentencing judge he doesn't want to be
labeled as a drug dealer. Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ronald
Castleberry responded, "I don't know what a drug dealer is if he is
not."

Jesmer, of Monroe, drove with some friends to Everett and bought the
methadone from Keith on Oct. 31, 2004, according to court papers filed
by deputy prosecutor Janice Albert.

Methadone is a painkiller, and it's also a prescription drug often
given to addicts to help them kick heroin.

According to charging papers, Jesmer consumed most of a small bottle
of methadone and went to sleep. He wasn't breathing when companions
woke up, and aid personnel couldn't revive him.

Albert said the crime, often difficult to prove, possibly can be
charged anytime a drug dealer sells an illegal drug to someone who
takes it and then dies from an overdose.

Jesmer's mother and father spoke at Wednesday's sentencing hearing,
asking Castleberry to sentence Keith to the maximum penalty under the
law. Instead, the judge went with the middle of the sentencing range.
That was the recommendation of both Albert and public defender Natalie
Tarantino.

Stephanie Jesmer told the judge her son already has been held
accountable for buying $80 worth of a prescription drug from Keith.
She said she wants to see Keith off the streets for as long as possible.

The judge said the only reason he didn't give Keith more time is that
he pleaded guilty, thus saving family members the ordeal and stress of
a lengthy trial.

Keith was arrested in October by a fugitive task force.

After Shane Jesmer's 2004 death, detectives obtained a
court-authorized recording of a conversation with Keith in which his
role in the sale was discussed.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's office ruled that Jesmer died
of an overdose of methadone and diazepam, a drug used to relieve
anxiety, muscle spasms and seizures, documents said.