The mother of the victim, Elijah McDonald III of Deerfield Twp., gave a tearful statement in his memory during which Peeler offered his thoughts and sympathy on the tragedy of drug addiction.
“I am my son’s voice,” she said while urging Peeler to see that Dunham get drug treatment. “We were a team.”
On Sept. 30, Dunham was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and corrupting another with drugs in connection with McDonald’s death on Feb. 24, 2019, from a fentanyl overdose.
Assistant Warren County Prosecutor Derek Faulkner said McDonald was in treatment to kick his habit and Dunham could have “done the right thing,” rather than provide him the drugs that killed him.
Testimony during the trial indicated Dunham and McDonald, who had known each other since 4th grade, did drugs together in Butler County. McDonald died later at his mother’s home in Warren County.
On Thursday, Dunham’s lawyer, Jeffrey Meadows, said Dunham was battling addiction himself. He urged Peeler not to send him to prison, where he will be able to get drugs, but to order him into inpatient treatment.
Dunham’s prior record was limited to driving under suspension, Meadows added.
“I lost a friend,” Dunham said. “We were close.”
“I need help,” Dunham said, adding he has been drug free for six months. “I don’t think prison will help.”
While recognizing the tragedy on both sides, Peeler said he ordered the prison sentence rather than “diminish the crime.”
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