GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A convicted drug dealer who set into motion a chain of events that led to the 2018 overdose death of a Grand Rapids woman was sentenced this week to mandatory life in prison.
A federal judge sentenced 28-year-old Javontae Q. White to a life term for distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. White got lesser sentences on two other drug convictions stemming from the same case.
“As a drug dealer, White earned his living by feeding, and thereby profiting off of, other people’s addictions,’’ Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Fauson wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
That conduct, federal prosecutors said, led to the death of Elaine Christensen in July of 2018. Christensen was the daughter of a retired Grand Rapids District Court judge and the sister of a Kent County assistant prosecutor.
“The law provides that where a distribution results in death, and where the defendant incurred a prior conviction for a felony drug offense, the penalty is mandatory life imprisonment,’’ Fauson wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
“Put simply, Congress said that where a recidivist drug dealer sells drugs that kill someone, the drug dealer should be imprisoned for life. That is the case with White.’’
White has convictions in North Carolina and Michigan dating back to when he was 17 years old. They include possession of drugs and maintaining a drug house.
Family members of Christensen addressed the court on Monday. Friends and family of White were in attendance.
Defense attorney Parker Douglas called the mandatory life sentence “both illegal and substantively unreasonable.’’
“There are those in the community who also believe a life sentence applied to Mr. White is plainly unjust,’’ Douglas wrote in sentencing memorandum.
They include members of the Greater Grand Rapids chapter of the NAACP. Kareem Scales, administrator of operations for the Grand Rapids chapter, said White's sentence is reflective of systemic injustice in the criminal justice system.
“This is to bring awareness to the need for criminal justice reform,’’ Scales said. “A better outcome would be for all responsible parties to be held equally responsible.’’
Cle Jackson, president of the Greater Grand Rapids NAACP, said Javontae White’s case is a “perfect example of the reform that needs to happen in the courtroom.’’
“There has to be some level of reform,’’ Jackson said on Tuesday. “Oftentimes we are not getting full due process. We often see this imbalance when it comes to sentencing.’’
The criminal case stems from Elaine Christensen’s overdose death in July of 2018 at a home on East Fulton Street in Grand Rapids.
Investigators say Christensen’s boyfriend, Ryan Jon-Palmer Hall, gave her fentanyl that he got from Mark Henry Blodgett. Blodgett got the fentanyl from White, who was living on Grove Street near Plainfield Avenue NE, court records show.
Felony drug cases for Hall and Blodgett were handled in state court.
Hall, 37, got jail time and was placed on probation for five years.
Blodgett, 28, was sentenced to 3 to 20 years in prison. He’s eligible for release in July.
“Sadly, White has not accepted that the fentanyl he distributed to Mark Blodgett, who middle-manned the fentanyl purchase for Ryan Hall, caused (Elaine Christensen’s) death,’’ federal prosecutors wrote.
White penned a letter to Christensen’s mother “claiming to take full responsibility for his actions,’’ Fauson wrote in the sentencing memorandum.
“But it is clear from this letter that White does not feel he should be held responsible for (Christensen’s) death,’’ Fauson wrote. “Though he acknowledges dealing small amounts of drugs to Mark Blodgett, he spuriously claims that Blodgett tampered with the fentanyl or swapped it out, and, therefore, he should not be held responsible with a life sentence.
“There is simply no evidence that this is true.’’
Douglas, the defense attorney, says the life term for Javontae White “reflects unwarranted sentencing disparities’’ when compared to sentences Hall and Blodgett received.
“First, he maintains that such a sentence overstates the nature and circumstances of his role in the offense, and neglects to individually assess his history and characteristics,’’ Douglas wrote. “It also reflects unwarranted sentencing disparities.’’
A documentary on the case entitled "Javontae White: The Untold Story" has been posted to the NAACP chapter’s Facebook page.
White was found guilty in September of 2020 on two drug charges stemming from the same incident. Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on the charge of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, which led to a declaration of mistrial.
A new trial got underway in January and lasted four days. Closing arguments were heard on Jan. 14; jurors that afternoon returned a guilty verdict.
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