photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Daniele Francesco Leone appears at his sentencing hearing on Oct. 10, 2023, in Douglas County District Court. He was sentenced to just over five years in prison in connection with the fentanyl overdose of Nickolas Joseph Byrum on March 15, 2021.

A man was sentenced to just over five years in prison on Tuesday for a manslaughter conviction in connection with a Lawrence man’s fentanyl overdose.

The man, Daniele Francesco Leone, 33, of Kansas City, Missouri, originally faced one felony count of distribution of a controlled substance causing death, but he pleaded guilty in September to the lesser count of felony voluntary manslaughter and one felony count of distribution of fentanyl, as the Journal-World reported.

The conviction relates to the fentanyl overdose death of Nickolas Joseph Byrum, 32, of Lawrence, who died on March 15, 2021. According to his obituary, Byrum was a father of four. Emergency crews were called around 9 a.m. to the 1100 block of East 13th Street, where Byrum was found deceased.

Judge Stacey Donovan sentenced Leone to 61 months, or just over five years, for the manslaughter charge and 16 months for the fentanyl charge, with the sentences to run concurrently. Leone is also required to register as a violent offender and a drug offender for 15 years, Donovan said.

Senior Assistant District Attorney David Greenwald said that Byrum’s family was aware of Leone’s sentencing date and he thought they wanted to be present and speak, but they were not in attendance.

Leone said that he was sorry about Byrum’s death and that he considered Byrum a good friend. He said he has been clean from drug use for 16 months and plans to seek drug counseling after he completes his prison sentence.

Defense attorney John Kerns said that Leone had been cooperative with law enforcement beginning with his first interview with police, at which he waived his Miranda rights, and had expressed sincere remorse for what happened to Byrum.

Leone has been in custody at the Douglas County Jail since his arrest in January and is being held on a $75,000 bond.

Leone was charged in the case after co-defendant Abby Gail Burton, 30, of Norborne, Missouri, pleaded guilty to possession of heroin as part of a plea deal and agreed to testify truthfully against Leone. Burton was also originally charged with causing Byrum’s death. She was sentenced to 13 months in prison, which Judge Amy Hanley suspended to 12 months of probation in August of 2022, as the Journal-World reported.