A Stuart man was sentenced to serve five years in jail after pleading guilty on May 7 to murder in connection with the February 2016 death of a Radford teen.
Griffith Coy Goodyear, of Stuart, also pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing a Schedule III drug, according to Radford Circuit Court records.
All were in connection with the death of Radford native Shakeem Dangelo James, 19, who was found dead in his home in February 2016, according to previous reports.
Goodyear was sentenced to 20 years, with 15 suspended, in connection with the murder charge. He also was ordered to pay costs of $1,540 and complete five years probation.
He was sentenced to 10 years, with all suspended, and probation on each of the drug charges, according to court records. Goodyear also must relinquish his operator’s license for six months.
James died from a lack of oxygen which resulted from the use of buprenorphine, an FDA-approved treatment for opioid addiction, according to the state medical examiner’s report and previous reports. The death was ruled accidental, according to previous reports.
Griffith was charged in connection with the incident on December 12, 2016.
