A 31-year-old man has been sentenced to five years in prison for causing the death of an Olympia teen who overdosed on narcotics.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Indu Thomas sentenced Isaiah James Middleton on June 6 after he pleaded guilty to controlled substance homicide on April 27. The Prosecuting Attorney's Office announced Middleton's sentencing in a news release.
Kadin Butler-Blood, 17, was pronounced brain dead a few days after Tumwater police found him with Middleton in a motel room on the 400 block of Lee Street Southwest on Aug. 2, 2021, according to court documents.
Butler-Blood died at Providence St. Peter Hospital on Aug. 11, according to his obituary.
Middleton also overdosed in the motel room, but the release says he was revived with Narcan.
At the hospital, Middleton told a detective he obtained the drugs from a friend at the motel and gave them to Butler-Blood, according to court documents. Police also collected 11 pills from Middleton and a blue powdery substance in the motel room.
An autopsy determined Butler-Blood died after overdosing on fentanyl, a synthetic opioid about 100 times stronger than morphine. A laboratory report later determined some of the drugs collected by police contained fentanyl, according to court documents.
Fentanyl overdose deaths more than doubled between 2020 and 2021, The Olympian previously reported. The opioid is often mixed with other substances, sometimes without the knowledge of the user, and can be lethal in small amounts.
Kyle Butler, the oldest brother to Kadin Butler-Blood, submitted a victim's statement to the court. In it, he called the time after his brother's death "incomprehensible."
"The feeble 'what if' thoughts are no match for the reality of death," Kyle Butler said in his statement. "They are no match for the haunting memories of watching Kadin's body fight to stay alive, as we slowly understood that the part of Kadin that makes each one of us our brilliant selves would never return."
He went on to say he wished for Middleton to be sentenced within the standard range, 51-68 months in this case, and later go through a graduated reentry program.
Middleton's attorney, Jose Villanueva, requested the court impose a Mental Health Sentencing Alternative, a reduced sentence for eligible defendants diagnosed with serious mental illness.
In court documents, Villanueva said Middleton suffers from severe bipolar and anxiety disorders as well as addiction issues that have led him to become homeless.
"Mr. Middleton is not a violent person and poses no harm to anyone," Villanueva said in his sentencing memorandum. "He is aware that substance use in violation of a court order will lead to incarceration. Mr. Middleton is crying out for help. He had no intention of causing harm to anyone."
He also had an offender score of 0, meaning he had no prior criminal history that would have affected his sentence.
However, Thomas opted to sentence Middleton within the standard range as recommended by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Elizabeth McMullen, according to court documents.
McMullen questioned an evaluator's determination that Middleton suffered from serious mental illness that could have limited major life activities. She noted he previously earned a bachelor's degree in computer science at the University of Washington and worked at Boeing for three years.
"A MHSA sentence is not intended for a defendant who suddenly self-reports that they suffer from mental health issues and are able to obtain a report stating the same in order to avoid incarceration," McMullen said in her sentencing memorandum.
Middleton could still receive mental health treatment while prison, she said. Furthermore, she argued the alternative would not be appropriate in this case.
"When an individual, in this case an adult, buys drugs off the street and gives them to others, in this case a child whose brain was not fully developed, he/she is spreading poison in the community," McMullen said in her memorandum.
