EVERETT — A Marysville man was sentenced to more than two years in prison Monday for his role in the 2011 overdose death of a Marysville Getchell High School student.
Darren Pevny, 23, was sentenced in Snohomish County Superior Court to 27 months behind bars, the maximum allowed under the state sentencing laws. He’d pleaded guilty in July to second-degree manslaughter.
Prosecutors said Pevny provided a 17-year-old girl with oxymorphone, a highly addictive narcotic prescribed to treat moderate to severe pain.
The girl overdosed June 18, 2011, on a combination of oxymorphone, cocaine, alcohol and a doctor-prescribed anti-depressant, according to court documents.
Prosecutors didn’t name the girl in court papers, instead referring to her by her initials.
The Herald also hasn’t named the girl because of her age and the circumstances of her death.
Her mother and brother urged Judge Anita Farris to sentence Pevny to the maximum allowed by law.
“My family has been through hell,” her brother said.
The girl died at the Marysville home Pevny shared with his parents. She was there after attending a party with him and his girlfriend.
Pevny and his girlfriend, 19, reportedly told police that they were with the girl the night before she died. Pevny bought a bottle of tequila and shared it with the teens before they all left for a party, where there was beer and cocaine available, court papers said.
The older girl told detectives that the high school junior may have used cocaine while at the party.
At his parents’ home, Pevny crushed up one oxymorphone pill and part of another. The three each snorted a line. The girl quickly fell asleep, according to Pevny and his girlfriend. They moved her to the floor and they took the bed. They told detectives that they heard her snoring loudly during the early morning hours.
Pevny woke up around 1 p.m. and noticed that something was wrong with the girl. He said he tried to wake her but she didn’t have a pulse. Pevny yelled for his parents. His father began life-saving efforts and Pevny called 911, court papers said.
Paramedics were unable to revive the girl.
Marysville police interviewed Pevny, who admitted that he provided the teen with Opana, a brand name for oxymorphone. He also admitted that he sold drugs, including marijuana and prescription painkillers, court papers said. Detectives collected scales, ledgers and jars containing marijuana from Pevny’s bedroom.
Deputy prosecutor Julie Mohr asked that Pevny be sentenced to the high end of the sentencing range.
“The defendant was an adult; the victim was a minor,” she said.
Defense attorney Mark Mestel told the judge that the girl had used drugs in the past and the group was sharing drugs the night she died. Pevny had no felony history, although he did have four misdemeanors.
“I’m sorry for what happened,” the defendant said, turning around to face the victim’s family.
Pevny said he didn’t expect their forgiveness.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
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