photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured on Sept. 4, 2024.

A Lawrence man on Wednesday was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fentanyl overdose death of a 32-year-old father of two.

The defendant, Robert Leeroy Hall, 35, pleaded guilty to the felonies of involuntary manslaughter and unlawful distribution of fentanyl as part of a plea agreement with the state, which had originally charged him with one felony count of distribution of a controlled substance causing death.

On Wednesday, Deputy District Attorney David Greenwald told Judge Stacey Donovan that Hall had bought fentanyl pills from another man, who was also charged in the case, and gave them directly to Michael Aron Howell, of Lawrence, “recklessly killing him” on Oct. 8, 2021.

According to Howell’s autopsy report, he was found face down in his home, his cause of death fentanyl intoxication. Howell was a father of two, according to his obituary. He was the lead service tech for Wicked Broadband in Lawrence and before that had worked in construction and as a cook in a number of local restaurants.

In return for Hall’s guilty pleas, the state is requesting that his sentences for the two crimes run consecutively and that he be given at least 60 days of “shock time.” Because of his presumed lack of criminal history, the state will not oppose a “border box finding” at sentencing, which means the judge would have discretion to order prison or probation, depending on the findings of a presentencing report. Hall will also have to register as both a violent offender and a drug offender. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2025.

Two other men were also charged in connection with Howell’s death: John P. Beckwith and Randell Mark Smith, both of Lawrence.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

John Paul Beckwith is pictured at a sentencing hearing on April 17, 2023, in Douglas County District Court.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Randell Mark Smith, left, appears at his sentencing Monday, March 25, 2024, with his attorney, Thomas Penland.

Beckwith, who sold the fentanyl to Hall, entered a no contest plea to the lesser felony charge of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance as part of a plea deal with the state in which he agreed to testify against Smith and Hall. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended to 18 months of probation.

Smith pleaded no contest in February to involuntary manslaughter and distributing fentanyl. Donovan gave Smith 41 months for the involuntary manslaughter count and 15 months for the distribution count, to run consecutively for a total of about four and a half years in prison.