Young woman to do hard time in drug death

EVERETT — Brenda Helvey’s lip quivered and new tears filled her eyes as she watched a mother and daughter embrace.

Jane James wrapped her arms around her oldest daughter and held her before Brooke James was handcuffed and led off to jail.

Brenda Helvey hasn’t hugged her daughter Kyla Helvey in almost two years. She won’t get another chance.

“All we have our memories. I’m thankful we have so many good memories. That’s all we have,” Brenda Helvey said.

Brooke James, 21, was sentenced Friday to one year and a day in prison for a drug charge stemming from the night Kyla Helvey overdosed in 2007.

Helvey, 21, had recently met James and Mallori Smith, 24. The women planned to spend the evening soaking in Smith’s hot tub and drinking. They consumed drinks laced with GHB, gamma hydroxy­butyric acid, a potent rave party drug. Helvey had never used the drug. James and Smith warned her about the dangers of mixing it with too much alcohol, according to court papers.

Investigators were told that Helvey chugged some of the liquid drug straight from a bottle and collapsed.

She was dead by morning.

Prosecutors accused James and Smith of failing to summon aid for Helvey. They were concerned something was wrong with Helvey, even checking her pulse, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Mara Rozzano said. Instead of calling 911, they took pictures of Helvey while she was passed out on the floor. They both said they thought she was sleeping off the effects of the drug.

Smith, who provided the drug, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced in February to nearly two years in prison.

James also was charged with manslaughter but days before she was scheduled to go to trial, Rozzano dropped the charge. She filed a drug possession charge against James.

Rozzano said concerns arose after Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Linda Krese suggested that prosecutors might lack sufficient evidence to support the manslaughter charge. The Helveys didn’t want James to walk away without any consequences, Rozzano said.

James in January entered an Alford plea, which allowed her to plead guilty but avoid admitting any wrongdoing. Instead, she acknowledged sufficient evidence existed to ensure her conviction.

Rozzano recommended on Friday that James be sentenced to nearly two years in prison, the high-end of the standard range. She opposed James’ request for special drug offender sentence that would allow her to receive drug treatment instead of prison time.

James has been admonished several times for failing to adhere to court orders, such as failing to keep a steady job, Rozzano said. She has arrest warrants in California for traffic violations and has worked in bars even though she was told to stay away from alcohol. James also had a disturbing tattoo reading “die pretty” inked on her stomach after Helvey’s death.

“She doesn’t follow the rules,” Rozzano said. “It’s a complete lack of taking responsibility for her actions.”

Glen James told Krese his daughter is a changed person. She made a poor decision, as did Helvey and Smith, to take an illegal drug and drink. He said he doesn’t believe his daughter knew that Helvey was in trouble. If she had known, she would have called 911, he said.

“Brooke is not a bad person. She is not,” Glen James said.

Brooke James held her head in her hands and sobbed through the proceedings. As she read from a piece of paper, her words often were drowned out by her sobs.

“There’s hasn’t been a day that I haven’t thought of her,” James said. “I just want to say to Kyla’s family, I’m sorry for your loss.”

James told the judge she’s trying to better her life. She’s given up drugs and drinking. She’s found a new group of friends and has a good job.

“I know I’m not perfect. I know I have a long way to go, but your honor, I’m trying,” James said.

Krese said she didn’t think an alternative sentence was appropriate. James says she’s stopped drinking and using drugs. The limited space in drug treatment programs is reserved for people with significant addictions, Krese said.

The alternative sentence is not a way to avoid prison time, Krese said.

The judge also said she wasn’t convinced that James was serious about drug treatment.

“I’m struck by the fact that Ms. James has lived her life without much consideration for long-term consequences,” Krese said. “She lives very much in the moment.”

The Helveys said they were disappointed by Friday’s sentence. The judge could have sent a stronger message to other young people.

“These kids must be held accountable for their actions,” Ron Helvey said. “My daughter is dead, and she’s never coming back.”

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.