Kanawha County man sentenced for selling deadly dose of heroin

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Charleston man will remain behind bars for giving a woman a dose of heroin that killed her last year.

Steven Craig Coleman, 28, apologized to the family of Melody Ann Oxley before a judge handed down the maximum prison sentence Monday morning.

“I’m sorry that anyone has to lose a family member to drugs,” Coleman told the court. “I never intended to hurt anyone in my life. I never intended to become a drug addict, but here I am.”

Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey sentenced Coleman to one year in jail for involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor and 1-3 years in prison for attempt to deliver a controlled substance, a felony.

“I believe this community will be safer,” Bailey said after handing down the sentence.

Coleman was initially charged with murder. As part of his plea deal, prosecutors dropped the murder charge against him earlier this year. In court Monday, Coleman told Bailey he was not a killer.

“I’m not a murderer. I’ve done over a year for a charge that didn’t happen because the state wanted to make an example out of me. That’s not right, but I thank them because otherwise I may be dead and still an active addict,” he said.

Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Don Morris called the situation a “tragedy” for Oxley and her family.

“Unfortunately, this is a tragedy that has presented itself over and over again in this community,” Morris said.

Bailey agreed saying the community is dealing with a serious drug problem and this is just one of those crimes.

“There’s no greater example of what abuse and ciaos has resulted to people’s lives, to families, to children, to parents, to siblings, to friends then drug abuse and now a death,” she said.

Coleman’s attorney Rico Moore told the judge his client has been exposed to drugs his whole life. Coleman’s mother died from drugs and his whole family are addicts.

“He’s a good person with a bad problem. He has a bad problem in terms of he’s an addict. He’s grown up around addicts,” Moore said. “He feels sorry for what he did, you Honor. Honestly, he told you the truth.”

But Bailey said Coleman didn’t show any remorse for selling a drug that killed Oxley. She said after the incident occurred, Coleman hid his drugs at another house not to help Oxley, but to help himself.

“To say that you weren’t a criminal, just because you didn’t have a criminal record, doesn’t make you not a criminal. Anyone who uses and abuses drugs is committing criminal conduct,” she said. “Those are crimes.”

Coleman will receive jail credit for the one year he’s already served in the South Central Regional Jail. Bailey said the sentences will run consecutively.





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