The sentencing for the man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the death of 14-year-old Carson Crimeni has been announced on Thursday.
The man, who cannot be named because he was a minor at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty in May.
He has received an 18-month sentence and 18 months of supervision. He has also been ordered to provide a DNA sample and is not allowed to possess any weapons for five years.
In the courtroom gallery, Carson’s father, Aron Crimeni, was seen shaking his head.
In the sentencing hearing, the judge said it was the accused who supplied the drugs that led to Crimeni’s death. The judge went on the say the accused had no intention of killing Crimeni.
The factors that went into the sentencing include lack of criminal history, the guilty plea and a show of remorse, the judge said.
“There is definitely not closure. It’s good to know that he’s going to jail for his crime for what he did to my son,” Aron Crimeni said.
“The (jail) time seems low. We knew it wouldn’t be what he deserved, but we were hoping for at least two years.”
In August 2019, Crimeni was at Langley, B.C.’s Walnut Grove skatepark with a group of older teens when he went into medical distress after being given a massive amount of MDMA — 10 doses worth.
While he was overdosing, the bystanders watched, mocked and filmed Crimeni, then posted the footage on social media.
The man who pleaded guilty has been described as a sophisticated drug dealer in court.
Previously, Crimeni’s family has said whatever the sentence is, it will never be enough to mend the hole that has been left by his death.
Carson’s father read a tearful victim impact statement in September when the sentencing hearing began, describing the devastating day his son died.
“Being in the hospital with my son lying on a gurney, holding his hand, being told by the doctors there was nothing left for them to do to help him and that he was gone, remembering crying, begging, pleading with the doctors to please save him,” he told Global News as he held back tears outside the New Westminster courthouse.
“It has changed our lives, and I will never be the same. I loved my son more than anything else in this world and life without him is hard to even find meaning for it.”
A statement written by Carson’s grandfather, Darrel Crimeni, was also read to the court.
The boy’s grandfather was present when police located Carson’s near-lifeless body in a ditch in the Walnut Grove park.
“I went straight to the lights, and we got to Carson at about the same time. It was horrible. It still haunts me. He was conscious but barely, breathing but barely, struggling,” he told Global News.
“Justice is one thing. Preventative would be something else, so it doesn’t happen to other boys. It’s difficult, but my program at this point has been mostly anti-bullying rather than anti-drugs; I do believe Carson was bullied to death.”
The Crown and defence were both asking for a three-year sentence in the case, with the key issue expected to be how much of that time will actually be served behind bars.
— with files from Simon Little and Janet Brown