Teen gets jail time in Granger party drug case
SOUTH BEND — Rejecting requests by both prosecutors and the defense for a more lenient sentence, a judge Friday ordered a 19-year-old man to serve jail time for bringing prescription drugs to a party that two Granger brothers attended before dying of overdoses last year.
Saying Kyle Treber's actions were "more dangerous than a drug dealer on the street," St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller sentenced him to a total of two years. The first year will start with the 90 days in jail, followed by community corrections, which could include home detention. The second year will be suspended and served on probation.
Treber has one week to report to the St. Joseph County Jail.
Authorities say Treber brought a bottle of the painkiller oxycodone to the June 13 party in the 15000 block of Bryanton Court. The next morning, 19-year-old Nick Savage and 18-year-old Jack Savage were found dead in their home. Treber and another teen also were treated for overdoses.
Treber pleaded guilty to a single count of possession of narcotics. In exchange, prosecutors dropped three charges of dealing narcotics and asked for a sentence of 2 1/2 years on probation.
Authorities have never accused Treber of providing the drugs that contributed to the Savage brothers' overdoses because investigators could not rule out the possibility that the brothers got drugs from another source. A coroner ruled they died from a combination of alcohol and oxycodone.
But Woodward Miller on Friday said Treber's actions were, in some ways, worse than that of a traditional drug dealer because he had the trust of his friends.
"Your friends were more vulnerable to you than they would be to an unknown drug dealer," Woodward Miller said. "On that night you were, in those circumstances, more dangerous than a dealer on the street."
Several people, including Treber's employer and a longtime teacher and football coach, spoke on his behalf Friday, describing him as a young man of high character who took his studies and work seriously, respected others and even volunteered to work with students who had special needs. They described how Treber, an all-state linebacker for Penn High School football, earned a scholarship to the University of Indianapolis, only to lose it because of his criminal charges.
Defense attorney James Korpal said Treber's involvement in the party left him with severe anxiety.
"My lapse in judgment is going to haunt me for the rest of my life," Treber told the judge. "Two people died that night. I almost died that night."
Prosecutors said the case also highlighted a careful approach to drug cases, as they sought to hold Treber accountable for his actions while acknowledging a distinction between teen partiers and hardened drug dealers.
"We have to recognize not all dealers are the same," said St. Joseph County Deputy Prosecutor Amy Cressy. "Kyle Treber didn't think about the consequences. He wasn't thinking long-term when he went to that party."
But Woodward Miller said Treber strung together multiple crimes, starting with the moment he took the bottle of oxycodone and worsening each time he passed it around. Citing the epidemic of deaths attributed to prescription drugs, she likened the case to illegal possession of a handgun, which routinely draws a 90-day jail sentence.
Treber and his family quickly left the courthouse after the hearing, and Korpal said the family had no comment on the sentence. Under the terms of Treber's plea agreement, he has the right to appeal the conviction and sentence.
