Every night before falling asleep, Kayla Smith checked Facebook messenger to ensure there hadn’t been a significant lapse in time since her brother’s account was last active.

She knew if he hadn’t logged in for 24 hours or more that something was wrong. In those moments, she called every hospital and correctional facility in the state asking if her brother, Ryan Smith, was there. She feared every day that he could fatally overdose due to his long-standing addiction to opioids and other drugs.

On the night of July 25, 2017, Kayla believed Ryan was safe. She checked Facebook at 11:30 p.m. He was active. He was alive.

“Little did I know, that just barely an hour later, while I lay asleep in my warm, safe bed, my brother was lying on the dirty ground, helpless, gasping for his life that would soon be over, while he was surrounded by people who put more value on keeping themselves out of possible trouble than his life continuing,” Kayla, a Concord resident, said Thursday in Merrimack County Superior Court.

For the first time since her brother’s death, Kayla had the opportunity Thursday to address Spencer Grayson, the man convicted of giving fentanyl to Ryan just moments before he fatally overdosed behind Cumberland Farms on North Main Street on July 26, 2017. She told Grayson at the sentencing hearing that while she understands he suffers from a chronic substance abuse disorder, that his addiction doesn’t excuse his “lack of regard for other human life.”

Grayson, 23, of Concord, who has been incarcerated since his arrest in November 2017, will serve 8½ to 20 years in state prison for his crimes. He also faces an additional five to 10 years of incarceration if he is not of good behavior or violates the terms of his sentence.

At a hearing in late April, Grayson pleaded guilty to five separate drug charges, including possession and distribution of fentanyl on July 26, 2017, in a wooded area behind Cumberland Farms where Ryan lost his life. He also admitted to selling methamphetamine twice and fentanyl once to undercover police detectives months later.

Kayla, who addressed the court on her family’s behalf Thursday, said Grayson’s actions put other lives in danger and could have led to further tragedy.

Although Grayson took responsibility for giving fentanyl to Ryan just moments before the overdose, he avoided a more serious charge that accused him of selling Ryan the fatal dose. That charge, called death resulting, was taken off the table as part of a plea agreement reached with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

Given the unique facts of the case, issues with witnesses and Grayson’s willingness to cooperate with the investigation, Assistant Attorney General Nicole Maria told the court that she believes the sentence handed down Thursday is appropriate.

When give the opportunity to address the court, Grayson declined.

Prosecutors previously said the relationship between Grayson and Ryan was not new, and that the men knew each other because of substance abuse addictions. In the days preceding his death, Ryan had agreed to watch Grayson’s back and, in exchange, Grayson promised Ryan methamphetamine at a cut-rate price.

Grayson had asked Ryan to “be the muscle and back me up when I need it,” Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati summarized at April’s plea hearing, explaining that Ryan was basically Grayson’s bodyguard.

That same week, Kayla had driven Ryan to the Manchester Fire Department so he could access drug treatment services as part of the city’s Safe Station program. But Ryan soon returned to the streets and accepted Grayson’s proposition.

Standing at the front of the courtroom Thursday facing Grayson, Kayla recalled the tears streaming down Ryan’s face as she dropped him off at the fire department on July 22, 2017, four days before his death. She said he was scared because he didn’t know a life without drugs but he was there because he so badly wanted his family back in his life.

She told Grayson he wasn’t there for those moments. Rather, she accused Grayson of using Ryan and preying on his weaknesses in order to make some cash.

“While you are angry and bitter that you are stuck looking out into the world from a prison cell, I want you to remember that as long as you are in that cell and behind those walls your family can still pick up the phone and hear your voice on the other end of it,” she said. “Your family can come visit you, greeting you with a hug and holding your hands and touching you while you engage in conversation with smile and laughter.”

Those are moments that Kayla said Grayson took away from her and her family because Ryan’s absence is not temporary.

“Can you please look at me?” Kayla demanded of Grayson, who turned his head to meet her eyes.

“Your family got to look at you and you guys got to smile at each other when you walked in,” she said. “We will never have that again.”

(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319 or at adandrea@cmonitor.com.)]]>