Man who injected his addict pal with lethal dose of heroin jailed

A 33-YEAR-OLD man who gave his friend a lethal injection of heroin was handed a four-year sentence after appearing in court yesterday.

Newry man Stephen Millington died in his Dublin Road flat in the early hours of January 17 after he was injected with around £4 worth of the class A drug. A known alcohol and drug user, the 50-year-old died after the drug was injected into his arm for the first time.

Newry Crown Court, sitting in Belfast, heard that Mr Millington gave his friend Mantas Cepas £40 to buy the drug, and that he had only smoked and never injected it.

Cepas, a Lithuanian national who at the time of his friend’s death was living at Cowan Street in Newry, admitted both supplying the class A drug and the manslaughter of his friend. He was informed by Judge Melody McReynolds that he will spend two years of his four-year sentence in prison, then two years on licence when he is released.

Overdose: Stephen Millington

Passing sentence, Judge McReynolds told the court “this is a very dangerous drug”.

The court also heard that Mr Millington’s death was as a result of the intoxicating effects of alcohol, heroin and a benzodiazepine — all of which were found in his system.

Prosecuting barrister Geraldine McCullough said Mr Millington and Cepas had been drinking with their girlfriends at the deceased’s flat.

Mr Millington gave Cepas £40 for a bag of heroin. Cepas left and returned a short time later “visibly affected by drugs”. Cepas went to the bathroom where he prepared the drug. Mr Millington then tapped his own arm looking for a vein before asking Cepas to inject the heroin into his arm.

Mrs McCullough said the deceased’s girlfriend, a heroin user who was also in the bathroom, told Cepas “that’s too much”.

A few seconds after the drug was administered Mr Millington slumped over. Both Mr Millington’s girlfriend and Cepas tried to rouse him and an ambulance was called. Mr Millington was pronounced dead at 3.20am.

Cepas was arrested at the scene. He admitted buying the heroin for Mr Millington and told police he tried to help him after he collapsed, and that he didn’t think the amount of heroin was too much.

Defence barrister Greg Berry QC passed on his condolences to Mr Millington’s loved ones on behalf of his client. Citing the manslaughter as “not a death resulting from direct violence in the classic sense”, Judge McReynolds spoke of the unpredictable nature of heroin.