Bellingham man sent to prison for high schooler’s January overdose death
A Bellingham man who sold drugs laced with fentanyl to a high school girl who died of an overdose in January was sent to prison last week.
Joshua Benjamin Stewart, 18, was sentenced Oct. 26 in Whatcom County Superior Court to seven years in prison, with one year of probation. Stewart pleaded guilty the same day to charges of controlled substance homicide, two counts of delivery of a controlled substance (fentanyl), possession of a stolen motor vehicle and third-degree retail theft with extenuating circumstances — all felonies.
In exchange for his guilty plea, Stewart’s charges in the case were amended down from nine felonies he was previously facing.
His two other cases, from late April 2021, in which he was charged with theft, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and other crimes, were dismissed with prejudice in exchange for his guilty plea in the homicide case, according to court records.
A preliminary investigation by the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office found trace amounts of fentanyl in the high school girl’s system. It was determined the girl died of an apparent overdose a day later, court records show.
Bellingham police were contacted in late January by several people who were in a car with Stewart when the group was discussing the victim’s death, court records state. The people in the vehicle told police Stewart had said he sold the victim Xanax but had previously mentioned the pills were laced with fentanyl, the records state.
Stewart told the people in the car that he had been unable to reach the victim all week after he sold her the drugs, records state.
In February, Stewart had a phone conversation where he told another person he had 30 “Percs” in his possession. The witness later joked in the conversation that “it’s not like you killed anyone,” to which Stewart responded, “I can not confirm or deny that.” Stewart then told the witness that he told the victim how to use the drugs and received a video of her using them, court records state.
In late February, police were contacted by the victim’s family because they found a baggie that contained three blue pills in the victim’s wallet. The pills, which were marked “M30,” came back positive for fentanyl, the records show.
The Whatcom Gang and Drug Task Force also conducted two controlled purchases in February of counterfeit pills that were laced with fentanyl, heroin and Clonazolam from Stewart, according to court records.
Stewart was arrested in late July after Bellingham police responded to a theft report from Marshalls on Guide Meridian. Police found Stewart with three backpacks filled with stolen merchandise, totaling more than $450, according to previous reporting in The Bellingham Herald.
