Sentence in fentanyl overdose death delayed after defendant denies 20-year-old juvenile crime | News, Sports, Jobs

Photo of: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Benjamin L. Mims is pictured during a hearing in Douglas County District Court on Tuesday, December 27, 2022.

A Lawrence man was scheduled to be sentenced to prison on Wednesday in connection with the fentanyl overdose death of a Lawrence teenager, but the hearing was postponed when the man learned he could face a prison sentence three times longer than he had agreed to.

The man, Benjamin L. Mims, 36, pleaded guilty in May to one count of manslaughter and one count of trafficking in fentanyl. He was originally charged with one count of trafficking in a controlled substance resulting in death, one count of conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance and one count of trafficking in a controlled substance, the Journal-World reported.

The manslaughter charge stems from an Aug. 28, 2021, incident in the 3300 block of Westridge Court in which 18-year-old Mohamadi “MJ” Tompson Issa Jr. of Lawrence died of an apparent fentanyl overdose, according to the Douglas County Coroner. Mims was summoned to trial after the court heard testimony from Logan Hastie Morgan, 24, of Lawrence, who said he bought pills from Mims and sold them to Issa. Morgan was found guilty of one felony count of attempted distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and sentenced to three years in prison as part of a plea deal in which he agreed to testify against Mims and other local drug dealers.

Mims appeared in court Wednesday with his attorney, Dakota Loomis. The state was represented by newly appointed Assistant District Attorney David Greenwald. Judge Amy Hanley presided over the hearing, and when the hearing began, about 30 people filled the courtroom, including Issa’s mother, Sandra Issa.

“I had no idea we had so many individuals here,” Hanley said.

Sandra told the Journal-World she had prepared a statement that she would read to the court at the hearing, but after learning that the hearing would continue, she was disappointed and unsure if everyone present would be able to make it to another hearing.

Mims’ original charge of manslaughter was a first-degree felony for which he could face up to 54 years in prison. His plea agreement reduced the charge to manslaughter, a third-degree felony for which he could face a sentence of 4.5 to 20.5 years.

According to Mims’ plea agreement, the state believed that Mims’ criminal record was on the low end of the spectrum, with only two non-person offenses, and that he would be eligible for a sentence of 79 months or 6.5 years in prison.

However, a preliminary investigation report revealed that Mims’ criminal history was much more extensive than initially thought and that, due to his juvenile convictions, he would receive the maximum possible prison sentence of between 18.4 and 20.5 years.

Loomis said Mims plans to challenge the report, specifically that his convictions as a juvenile, dating back 20 years, should not count against him. The report was not filed with the court until June 21, Loomis said, otherwise he would have informed the court of the issue sooner. Loomis asked the court for an adjournment so he and Mims could review the report and determine if there was any legal reason to dismiss it.

According to court records, Mims was convicted in 2004 of two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of theft and one count of burglary in connection with three cases in Wyandotte County. He was sentenced to youth detention until he was 22 years old and placed on probation after his conviction until he was 23. He failed to comply with that probation and ended up serving an additional six months in youth detention until he was too old for the system.

Greenwald said he had no objection to the adjournment because the state also believes Mims’ criminal record is much less serious. But whatever the next hearing date, it must be clear-cut so that the “vast number” of those present have a clear idea of ​​what will happen next.

Hanley then postponed sentencing for Mims until August 8. At the hearing, the parties will argue whether Mims’ juvenile offenses should be counted against him and, if the convictions are included, whether Loomis should file a motion to vacate the prison sentence and ask the court to sentence Mims to a shorter term than the Kansas sentencing guidelines require.

Mims was on probation at the time of the overdose. He was convicted in federal court in 2019 of illegal possession of heroin with intent to resell. Mims was also convicted of illegal possession of narcotics in Douglas County in 2009.