Bridgeport man avoids jail time in near-fatal Greenwich overdose case

STAMFORD — A Bridgeport man accused of providing a Greenwich woman with heroin that nearly killed her will serve no jail time as a part of plea bargain he accepted Tuesday.

Donnie James, 44, received a 10-year suspended sentence from Judge Bruce Hudock on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to seconddegree assault and sale of narcotics as a part of a deal offered to him by the state.

James was arrested in September 2019 on charges of second-degree assault, sale of narcotics and conspiracy to commit assault charges after a Greenwich woman nearly died from a heroin overdose on the town’s west side.

Matthew Brovender, who represented James, said after Tuesday’s hearing that he was “happy” with the result for his client.

Without the deal, James faced up to at least five years in prison.

As a part of the bargain, James will need to join a substance abuse treatment program, seek out and maintain employment, and pay back the out-of-pocket medical costs to the victim.

James was one of two people charged following the near-fatal overdose on June 15, 2019.

Ryan Ramsey, 34, of Gregory Boulevard, Norwalk, was arrested about a week earlier than James for her alleged connection to the near-fatal overdose.

Greenwich police said Ramsey and James were behind the sale of the drug to the victim.

Prior to pleading guilty, James said Ramsey was “his girl” and that the two never meant for anyone to get hurt.

“We both were just getting high,” he said.

Ramsey has pleaded not guilty to second-degree assault, sale of narcotics, conspiracy to sell narcotics and conspiracy to commit assault charges. Her case is scheduled to resume on April 6.

James is scheduled to be released from the New Haven Correctional Center on Tuesday night.

James has a previous rap sheet involving narcotics, according to court records. He was already in jail when he was booked on charges related to the overdose. In 2019, he pleaded guilty to narcotic possession and interfering with an officer charges in Norwalk. Six years earlier, he was convicted on a felony narcotics possession charge in Waterbury.

As a part of his deal, Hudock required that James check in with the Stamford probation office by Thursday, or else.

“I advise that you get back here by Thursday. We don’t want to see any problems,” he said.