A 40-year-old man recently pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court to a controlled substance charge reduced from a controlled substance homicide charge.<\/p>\n
Kelly Dean Krstich pleaded guilty April 26. Judge Marshall Ferguson will oversee Krstich’s sentencing hearing on May 12. Krstich remains in custody, from a Sept. 7, 2022 booking, in the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent with bail set at $499,000.<\/p>\n
Seattle Police initially arrested Krstich in Kent on Dec. 4, 2018 on a homicide charge after a 33-year-old Seattle man died from an overdose on Feb. 24, 2018 after exchanging his prescribed Xanax for fentanyl with Krstich.<\/p>\n
According to the Washington State Legislature, a “person who unlawfully delivers a controlled substance … (which) is subsequently used by the person to whom it was delivered, resulting in the death of the user, is guilty of controlled substances homicide.”<\/p>\n
Screenshots of text messages exchanged between Krstich and the 33-year-old man demonstrated the two exchanging Xanax for fentanyl, according to court documents.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors filed a felony charge of controlled substance homicide against Krstich on Dec. 9, 2019.<\/p>\n
Krstich pleaded not guilty to the charge at his arraignment hearing on May 14, 2020.<\/p>\n
Prior to facing a jury trial, Krstich accepted a plea deal reducing the severity of the charge to a violation of the uniform controlled substances act for the delivery of fentanyl.<\/p>\n
The prosecuting attorney will make a recommendation of a seven-year sentence for the charge at Krstich’s sentencing hearing as part of his plea deal.<\/p>\n
As part of his plea deal, Krstich also pleaded guilty to charges from two separate cases.<\/p>\n
He pleaded guilty to charges of residential burglary and second-degree assault in regards to a May 2018 case; and guilty to charges of third-degree assault, attempting to elude police vehicle, and possession of a stolen vehicle in regards to a May 2020 case.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors also reduced the severity of charges from the May 2018 and May 2020 case as part of the plea agreement.<\/p>\n
According to his plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend Krstich serve the seven-year sentence concurrently with the sentences of the May 2018 and May 2020 cases, resulting in a total sentence of seven years in prison for all three cases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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