An Oregon Man Is Incarcerated For Selling Acid, Which Was Found In The Hands Of A Dead 13-year-old Child!

On Wednesday, a man from Eugene who sold liquid LSD to a 13-year-old child who later used it and died received a three-year prison term. On March 28, 2019, Kevin Michael Harris, then 22 years old, sold the LSD to a 17-year-old high school student, who then sold 22 LSD tabs to other high school students for $95 each.

The same evening, Harris gave Nathan Quezada, 13, and his three buddies three tabs of LSD, which the 17-year-old sold to them. Jeffrey Sweet, an assistant US attorney, said that Nathan started vomiting, speaking erratically, and experiencing seizures.

The following morning, according to the court statement, he was discovered dead in a semi-trailer that was parked in the driveway of a friend’s Springfield residence.

When his buddies returned from a park after leaving the trailer after seeing Nathan clutching onto the floor and frothing at the mouth, it was roughly an hour later. In the trailer, they once more abandoned him on his own without calling for assistance, according to court documents.

LSD was a contributing role to the boy’s death, despite the coroner’s inability to pinpoint its exact cause, Sweet said. Prosecutors said that the young teen’s companions that night were high and consuming LSD. You may also read other trending news, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown.

To gain the assistance he need, either by dialing 911 or locating an adult to help Sweet, Nathan said, “You have to say, if they weren’t high if they hadn’t consumed that, they would have acted differently.” Although LSD-related deaths are exceedingly uncommon, he noted there is a higher danger when selling significant amounts of the drug to a youngster.

According to Sweet, Harris frequently sold a 17-year-old customer who came to him to buy marijuana $400 worth of LSD. According to Sweet, Harris suggested the 17-year-old sell the narcotics at school and offered to sell cocaine, ecstasy, or LSD.

Selling to a minor with knowledge of it is irritating, he remarked. “I’m certain that isn’t fentanyl. I’m certain it isn’t heroin. Not methamphetamine at all. Although LSD is not linked to overdosing, it is well known that it can cause a “poor trip,” which is a distortion of reality.

As a result, LSD can undoubtedly be detrimental. The 13-year-father, old’s Benjamin Quezada of Springfield, wrote a letter that Sweet read. In it, he recounted how his son “wore his heart on his sleeve,” loved to play outside, and had a contagious laugh. His family “lost a great spirit,” he said.

While associate federal defense lawyer Kurt David Hermansen asked for house arrest and community work for Harris, Sweet wanted five years and a ten-month sentence. Harris, who is now 25 years old, apologized to US District Judge Michael J. McShane. He remarked through tears, “My heart goes out to the family for their loss. It was never my aim to

do any of this. I’m hoping I can atone for my mistakes someday. I have no idea what that is, but I am completely prepared. In response to the violence he experienced as a child and the lack of consistent parental support he experienced for the majority of his life, Harris was a homeless teenager who used every drug available before his incarceration, according to Hermansen.

Harris successfully finished inpatient treatment while awaiting punishment and has maintained sobriety for the past three years. Harris was “scared right away — straight into the 12-Step Fellowship for Recovery” after Harris’ arrest, according to Hermansen.

When the judge questioned Harris, he said that he had begged for assistance while he was in the Springfield jail and that the judge had seen his face on television and in newspaper articles. His initial release for outpatient therapy didn’t last more than a week.

The recovery group and a mentor helped him succeed while receiving inpatient drug treatment, he claimed. He said, “I had people behind me that I could trust. He now works at Central City Concern and plans to pursue peer support expert training. In his letter to the court, Benjamin Quezada informed the judge that Harris’ sobriety “won’t bring my son back.”

As a parent of two sons, McShane admitted that it was difficult for him to avoid viewing the situation through that lens. Harris was trying to alter his life, but he repeatedly supplied LSD to minors knowing that the narcotics would be distributed to other kids, according to McShane.

According to the judge, Nathan Quezada and his companions might have saved the 13-year-old and prevented his death if they had not consumed LSD. “Children are more frequently put at risk by judgments made while using drugs,” McShane added.

He claimed that during his time on the bench, he had witnessed children pass away as a result of drunken driving or hypothermia after being drugged and going outside in the cold without a coat. Young teens are certainly already making poor decisions, but “the risk factor goes up by 100 when we add drugs to the mix,” he said.

Harris was given a three-year sentence that included three years of supervised release by Judge McShane, who noted Harris’s good behavior while on the outside and the absence of any prior arrests, but decided Harris needed to be held accountable for the heinous offense.

In about 90 days, Harris will be required to surrender to begin serving his sentence. The 17-year-old was accused in state court and sentenced to six months of probation for selling LSD to Nathan’s friends, according to court records.

– Maxine Bernstein

email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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