$100 drug debt led to Nanaimo man’s death

NANAIMO – For the second time in three weeks, a Vancouver Island man has been sentenced in a Nanaimo court for a drug-fuelled killing.

On Nov. 30, a 47-year-old man was sent to prison for three years after shooting a notorious drug dealer on Christmas Day 2007 at a Nanaimo home that had been turned into a drug den.

And on Wednesday, 43-year-old Richard Niederhumer was sent to jail for two years less a day for a killing on Dec. 6, 2008, in the Parksville area. Provincial court judge Tony Dohm heard that Niederhumer fatally kicked and punched Geoffrey Charles Cross, 45, after Cross arrived at a Riley Road home with a friend to collect a $100 drug debt

Niederhumer, said Crown prosecutor Basil McCormick, was living at the Riley Road mobile home when Cross and another man arrived in the evening. Cross and the other man, said McCormick, had been drinking and doing drugs for much of the day and ordered Niederhumer to go with them. Cross, said the prosecutor, was a large man who identified himself that night as a drug debt collector.

After going with the pair to another home, Niederhumer phoned friends who picked him up and returned to Riley Road. Cross was angry and followed. Violence broke out with Cross first kicking Niederhumer in the head.

Another man who had been charged with Niederhumer, Lucas Bishop, punched Cross after the man grabbed his girlfriend. Charges against Bishop were dropped by the Crown.

Niederhumer attacked Cross when he fell to the floor from Bishop’s blow, kicking and punching him.

An autopsy found that Cross died of a combination of heart disease, the blows from Niederhumer and being highly intoxicated.

Niederhumer was arrested about a week later at his brother’s home. He is well-known to police for his activity in the drug subculture.

McCormick read out victim impact statements from Cross’s mother and brother, who said though the man had his demons he was known by friends and families as a good person.

Niederhumer told Dohm "there’s not a day goes by I don’t regret taking a life. Every day I wish I could turn the clock back."

Dohm, considering whether to increase the sentence beyond two years, said that a long prison term cannot mitigate the loss to Cross’s family.

"These cases . . . are always about people. Mr. Cross was as much a person as any of us," he said. "No words or sentence can alleviate the grief of the family and friends of Mr. Cross."