Guilty pleas entered in Concord fatal overdose case

A Concord man pleaded guilty Monday to supplying fentanyl to Ryan Smith who fatally overdosed in the early-morning hours of July 26, 2017, in a wooded area off North Main Street.

Although Spencer Grayson, 22, took responsibility for giving fentanyl to Smith just moments before the overdose, he avoided a more serious charge that accused him of selling Smith the fatal dose. That charge, called death resulting, was taken off the table as part of a plea agreement filed Monday in Merrimack County Superior Court in Concord.

In total, Grayson entered guilty pleas to five separate drug charges, including possession and distribution of fentanyl on July 26, 2017, behind Cumberland Farms on North Main Street in Concord. He also admitted to selling methamphetamine twice and fentanyl once to undercover police officers in the months after Smith’s death. He will be sentenced this summer.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati told Judge Brian Tucker during Monday’s plea hearing that the relationship between Grayson and Smith was not new, and that the men knew each other because of their addictions to opioids. More specifically, Smith agreed to watch Grayson’s back and, in exchange, Grayson promised Smith methamphetamine at a cut-rate price.

Grayson had asked Smith to “be the muscle and back me up when I need it,” Agati summarized for the court, explaining that Smith was basically Grayson’s bodyguard. The men finalized their agreement just three days before Smith’s death.

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

Grayson had picked Smith up at the Manchester Homeless Services Center at the intersection of Central and Pine streets. Court records show Smith spent much of his final days with Grayson, who led efforts to buy and sell.

“It was not Ryan selling the drugs,” Agati said.

At the scene of the overdose behind Cumberland Farms, police officers recovered two backpacks that summer morning. In Grayson’s, they said they found drug paraphernalia, including syringes, a digital scale, a mirror with residue and lined paper containing drugs. Conversely, Smith’s backpack included just basic essentials such as clothes and a cellphone charger; there were no wads of cash or drugs, Agati said.

In speaking with two confidential informants, police learned that Grayson was a known heroin and methamphetamine dealer who had witnessed numerous overdoses as a result of his sales, according to a sworn affidavit.

A friend had tried to warn Smith that Grayson was not selling pure heroin but rather cutting it with something more lethal, Facebook messages show. 

Smith, who grew up in Barnstead, began experimenting with marijuana as a high school freshman, his family told the Monitor in December 2017. From there, his drug use escalated to include cocaine, Suboxone and heroin.

He was convicted in 2015 for Suboxone possession and other charges and spent 14 months incarcerated at the Sullivan County jail in Unity. Family members said the jail time did him well and that he appeared to be turning his life around. But then he found methamphetamine.

His mother, Suzanne Brown, said she had hoped her only son would accept help and fight the “demon” inside him. Smith, though, wasn’t ready to accept help, telling her, “I’m never going to quit. I like what I do, and I know my limits.”

Grayson, whose bail was revoked Monday, is scheduled to be sentenced June 20 in Concord.

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