MAN AVOIDS PRISON IN FRIEND'S HEROIN DEATH

Jonathan Lehnherr won't go to prison for the heroin overdose death of
his friend, Michael Ace, but a Dane County judge put him on a very short leash.

Circuit Judge James Martin initially sentenced Lehnherr, 25, to three
years in prison for causing Ace's death on May 5, 2005, at their West
Wilson Street apartment. But he stayed the prison sentence and put
Lehnherr on seven years of probation, with a year in the Dane County
Jail as a condition of his probation.

"I am hopeful there has been some kind of ephiphany that you
understand how serious this is," Martin told Lehnherr. "And it cannot
happen and should not happen."

If Lehnherr's probation is revoked, he would immediately begin to
serve the prison sentence.

Lehnherr twice left the apartment to buy heroin for himself, Ace and
a woman, then returned and injected Ace with the heroin. Ace, 31,
died from a heroin overdose but also had cocaine, oxycodone,
trazadone and clonazapam in his system, according to an autopsy report.

Assistant District Attorney Brian Ausmus recommended a term of
probation for Lehnherr because, he said, Lehnherr has a number of
factors working in his favor - that he told the woman to call 911 and
tried to revive Ace using CPR, and that he stayed to answer questions
from police rather than flee.

Lehnherr also pleaded no contest to first-degree reckless homicide
rather than put Ace's family through the ordeal of a trial, Ausmus said.

Also important, Ausmus said, was that Lehnherr has also helped police
and prosecutors by identifying his alleged heroin source - Lavinia
Mull, 26, of Madison, who is now serving a 10-year prison sentence
for providing the heroin that killed 20-year-old Sarah Stellner in
2004. Mull is also charged with first-degree reckless homicide for
Ace's death. She is set to stand trial in December.

Ace's family asked that Lehnherr not be sentenced to prison,
according to Lisa Andreas, a sentencing consultant who prepared a
pre-sentence report for Lehnherr's defense. Ace's family did not
attend Wednesday's hearing, but Andreas said Ace's sister told her
Wednesday morning that Lehnherr and Ace had a very strong
relationship and that her family believes Lehnherr is remorseful.

Lehnherr apologized to Ace's family and vowed to beat his drug addiction.

"When Mike died I lost someone very special to me," Lehnherr said. "I
feel that I let him down."

Martin said that if Lehnherr becomes eligible for the Treatment
Alternative Program, a county drug treatment program for jail
inmates, he would stay the last six months of Lehnherr's jail
sentence. If he completes the program, he would not have to serve the
last six months at all, Martin said.