Park City Teen Pleads Guilty To Drug Charges Related To Friends’ Fatal Overdoses

PARK CITY, Utah – A Park City teenager on Friday pleaded guilty to charges that she had a powerful painkiller called “Pink” delivered to her.

Those drugs led to the fatal overdoses of two of her friends more than two years ago.

The 17-year-old girl was slated for a one-day trial on drug distribution and reckless endangerment charges related to the overdose deaths of her friends. However, she pleaded guilty to avoid trial and was sentenced Friday.

She pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless endangerment charge related to the deaths of her friends. She also admitted to the judge that she received more shipments of other illegal synthetic drugs even after her friends, Grant Seaver and Ryan Ainsworth, died from overdoses in September 2016. They were both 13.

Prosecutors said the boys asked to have the powerful opioid “Pink” shipped to the girl’s home, and they died two days apart after taking the drug.

Juvenile Court Judge Elizabeth Knight addressed the girl: “One sort of theme stood out for the court, and that was the fact that you are incredibly bright, and sometimes I think you let people manipulate you into doing things that you know are wrong.”

The girl agreed and acknowledged that she was working on that in treatment. She also agreed with the judge that she had made poor choices at times in order to please males.

“The choices you have made have really impacted not only your life, but also the lives of other people in really detrimental ways and in really sad ways,” Knight said.

The judge sentenced the girl to a six-month probation that will be reviewed in July in order to allow the girl to head to college in the fall, as long as she stays out of trouble.

“I think you have the potential to really make a difference and go in a different direction,” the judge said.

The teenager will also have to complete 36 hours of community service as well as aftercare related to counseling. She was also fined $150.