Jamestown man sentenced on felony charge related to child overdosing on fentanyl
Oct. 16—JAMESTOWN — A Jamestown man was sentenced to 10 years in prison with two years suspended on Wednesday, Oct. 16, on a felony charge related to his 2-year-old child overdosing on fentanyl in Southeast District Court in Jamestown after a judge rejected the recommended sentence from attorneys in the case.
Christopher William Johnson, 40, pleaded guilty to endangerment of a child, a Class B felony, at his change-of-plea hearing and sentencing. Charges of reckless endangerment, prohibited acts A/controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia, Class C felonies, and ingesting a controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor, were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. .
In a separate case, Johnson pleaded guilty to violate disorderly conduct restraining order and criminal mischief, Class A misdemeanors.
Judge Daniel Narum sentenced Johnson to 10 years in the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with two years suspended and credit for 12 days served. Narum also placed Johnson on two years supervised probation.
Johnson was accused of causing a child to suffer bodily injury by exposure to, ingestion of, inhalation of or contact with a controlled substance, chemical substance or drug paraphernalia; creating a substantial risk of bodily injury by having fentanyl present in a home where children reside and could come in contact with the fentanyl; possessing fentanyl or one or more derivatives of fentanyl with a previous conviction in 2015; possessing pieces of foil and syringes used with fentanyl with previous convictions in 2014 and 2015; and ingesting, inhaling or otherwise into the human body fentanyl on June 2.
Narum rejected a plea agreement for Johnson on Wednesday. That plea agreement included dismissing the felony charge of endangerment of a child in exchange for guilty pleas to reckless endangerment, prohibited acts A/controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia, Class C felonies; ingesting a controlled substance, violate disorderly conduct restraining order and criminal mischief, a Class A misdemeanor.
Mary DePuydt, chief assistant state's attorney for Stutsman County, and Scott Sandness, Johnson's attorney, jointly recommended a sentence of five years in the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with supervised probation to follow for Johnson
Narum said he wouldn't accept the plea agreement. He said Johnson has a substantial criminal history, the situation nearly resulted in the death of a child, and the punishment in the plea agreement was not sufficient.
Later, another plea agreement was brought forward. The plea agreement included Johnson pleading guilty to the felony charge of endangerment of a child and misdemeanor charges of violate disorderly conduct restraining order and criminal mischief. The charges of reckless endangerment, prohibited acts A/controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia, Class C felonies, and ingesting a controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor, were dismissed.
DePuydt and Sandness jointly recommended a sentence of five years in the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Narum rejected the recommended sentence from the attorneys but allowed Johnson to plead guilty to the felony charge of endangerment of a child and misdemeanor charges of violate disorderly conduct restraining order and criminal mischief.
The Jamestown Police Department and Jamestown Area Ambulance responded to a report of an unresponsive 2-year-old child in the 1300 block of 4th Avenue Northeast on June 2, court documents say. Officers administered NARCAN to the 2-year-old child after it was determined that the child was suffering from a fentanyl overdose.
An ambulance arrived on the scene and more Narcan was administered. The child was transported by ambulance to Jamestown Regional Medical Center and stabilized.
The Stutsman County Narcotics Task Force conducted an extensive investigation of the drug overdose.
Court documents say Johnson admitted to using fentanyl in his residence while the 2-year-old was home with him, fell asleep, and when he woke up, the 2-year-old child was unconscious.
Court documents say syringes and other drug paraphernalia were found in several rooms of the residence and within reach of Johnson's and Rhiannon Darlene Hufstetler's 2-year-old and 4-year-old children.
Court documents say video surveillance was obtained showing Hufstetler and Johnson preparing syringes and fentanyl with the 2-year-old child present in some videos.
In a related case, Hufstetler, 33 pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, a Class C felony, in September in Southeast District Court. A Class C felony charge of prohibited acts B was dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea to reckless endangerment.
Hufstetler and Johnson lived together and have two children.
Hufstetler was accused of creating a substantial risk of serious bodily injury with the presence and/or use of fentanyl in a home where children reside and could come in contact with fentanyl on June 2.
Hufstetler was sentenced to five years in the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with credit for 20 days served.
Johnson said he isn't making any excuses for what happened. He said he loves his children and wants to be there for them. He said he didn't want his children to suffer because of his actions.
"Hopefully their future is much better," he said.
Johnson said Hufstetler, who is the children's mother, left the kids, so he took care of the children by himself.
"I didn't reach out for help like I should have," he said.
Narum said Johnson will serve a longer sentence than what the attorneys jointly recommended because the facts of the case are "shocking." He said court documents paint a picture of a home with drugs and paraphernalia with children in the house.
"It was only a matter of time until they get into that and that creates a significant risk for serious bodily harm," he said.
Narum also said Johnson called the child's mother before calling 911, which could have delayed treatment.
Johnson later said he called the child's mother to ask where the Narcan was. He said as he hung up, she arrived at the residence and called 911.
Hufstetler was unable to be charged with possession of controlled substances, possession of drug paraphernalia and ingesting a controlled substance due to the Good Samaritan Law giving her immunity for calling 911, Stutsman County Sheriff Chad Kaiser said in June.
