photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Jadarrius Smith, left, appears with his attorney, Gerald Wells, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.

A 25-year-old Lawrence man who reportedly sold 100 fentanyl pills in a single buy to a confidential informant was sentenced to more than eight years in prison Friday in Douglas County District Court.

“Every single pill is a potential death,” prosecutor David Greenwald told Judge Amy Hanley before she pronounced the sentence, emphasizing that the sale in question was just one of many that defendant Jadarrius Smith made last year to an undercover person during an investigation by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

“This is the number-one cause of death for people under 40,” Greenwald said, noting that 1,200 people in Kansas had died of fentanyl overdoses since 2021.

Hanley, while handing down her sentence, echoed Greenwald’s concerns, telling Smith that, despite any remorse he might have shown, his actions called for the lengthy sentence.

“This is a serious crisis” in this state and across the country, she said.

The 100-month, or 8.3-year, sentence represented a downward departure in the sentence for Smith, who could have faced a maximum of more than 11 years behind bars.

Greenwald and Gerald Wells, Smith’s attorney, arrived at the 100-month figure during plea negotiations, in which eight other counts of fentanyl distribution were dropped in exchange for Smith’s no-contest plea on July 11. Greenwald noted the symmetry between the 100-month figure and the 100-pill drug buy.

He also told the court, by way of mitigation, that no violence accompanied the drug sales and the valuable confidential informant’s cover wasn’t “burned” as a result of the transactions.

Greenwald did ask the court to order restitution — namely, the $2,140 that the county spent in 10 controlled buys to procure the drugs. Hanley, however, denied that request and waived all other costs and fees associated with Smith’s legal proceedings, indicating that it wasn’t reasonable to expect him to make that kind of money while incarcerated. She also noted that he is a father and that his priority when he gets out of prison should be supporting his family.

When Smith was asked if he’d like to address the court, he stood but struggled to speak. After a lengthy silence, he sat back down, and Hanley gave him a few minutes to collect himself outside of the courtroom. When he returned, he spoke briefly.

“I’m sorry to you (the judge), my family, friends and the community,” he said. “I didn’t mean no harm.”

Smith said he felt like 100 months was too much time because, among other things, “I do have five kids and one on the way,” but that he was ready to begin his sentence and “get it over with.”

Smith has the highest possible criminal history score, which played a significant role in the duration of his sentence, but he told the court that most of his crimes had occurred when he was a juvenile.

Smith’s sister and nephew also addressed Hanley in support of Smith. His sister said she was in court on behalf of Smith’s mother, whom she described as “sickly” and unable to be present.

“He’s a good person,” she told the court, but he’s “young and still learning.”

“He just got involved with the wrong people,” she said.

Smith’s nephew said he himself had spent time in prison and understood the challenges of Smith’s life and the opportunities for betterment if allowed another chance.

Hanley said she was encouraged by the half a dozen people who showed up for Smith Friday, saying the supportive network boded well for his post-prison life.

She pointed out that the sentence she handed down was consistent with sentences she has ordered for others guilty of similar offenses, and she told Smith that the punishment was “not a reflection of who you are, but of what you did.”

“You have every opportunity to turn this around and to do better and to change things,” she said, but … “The public is hurt by this, and I want you to understand that.”

After sentencing, Smith, who had been out on a $50,000 bond, was handcuffed and taken out of the courtroom, after hugging crying family members, including a newborn, and giving them his wallet and jewelry.

In addition to the 100-month sentence, Hanley also ordered three years of post-release supervision for Smith. When released he must register as a drug offender for 15 years.