Langley, B.C., 14-year-old Carson Crimeni had the equivalent of 10 adult doses of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, in his bloodstream when he died of a drug overdose, a sentencing hearing for the young man who provided him the drugs heard Thursday.
Carson died on Aug. 7, 2019, near a Langley skate park, and was filmed overdosing as other youth watched his condition worsen and laughed. A teenager, who cannot be identified because he was a minor at the time of the incident, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death.
Carson’s father, Aron Crimeni, read a tearful victim impact statement at Thursday’s proceedings, 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 accused has been described in court as a sophisticated drug dealer.
The Crown and defence are 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.
The Crown is asking for two years in custody followed by a supervision order, while the defence wants 12-18 months of incarceration.
Neither sentence will bring Carson back, his family said.
“Nothing can fix the loss, right? It’s hard,” Aron said. “Ask your children about bullying. Bullying is an extremely serious thing.”
Darel said he was simply happy to see a guilty plea.
“Sentencing doesn’t make much difference to me. Twelve months, 24 months, 30 months, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is guilty,” he said.
“What matters is to impact others, other young people, to get the message through to kids and parents, keep an eye on what’s going on.”
The hearing is slated to resume Friday.
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