Pubdate: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 Source: State, The (SC) Copyright: 2002 The State Contact: http://www.thestate.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/426 Author: Lora Hines, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) DRUG RING DEFENDANT GETS LIFE IN PRISON Columbia Man Convicted for Heroin, Distribution That Led to Death A Columbia man linked to one of the Midlands' largest drug rings was sentenced to two life terms Monday. Ronnie Bowman, 39, was convicted of conspiring to distribute at least a kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of heroin and distributing a controlled substance resulting in a death. Bowman was one of 40 defendants in a heroin-dealing organization since mid-1996 in the Columbia area, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Moore said. Bowman is one of the last defendants to be sentenced in the case. His girlfriend, Jerilyn Gray, has been a fugitive since her indictment. Last year, Bowman agreed to plead guilty, but failed to meet conditions to guarantee a 22-year sentence. Instead, he asked U.S. District Court Judge Dennis Shedd to allow him to withdraw his guilty pleas, claiming his former attorney, Vincent Shaheen, hadn't given him copies of key forensics test results. On Monday, Shedd rejected the request. The heroin investigation started in early 1997 in several areas of the city. Police uncovered the ring in 1999 after residents near Martin Luther King Jr. Park complained about drug activity in their neighborhood. Informants helped undercover officers infiltrate the organization. The investigation ended in October 2000. On Aug. 15, 1999, Mark Nunn, 36, of Columbia, died after buying what he thought was heroin from Bowman, prosecutor Moore said. Nunn might have taken fentanyl, a synthetic drug stronger than heroin, at Bowman's Broad River Road apartment, Moore said. Nunn passed out and had trouble breathing, but Bowman refused to call 911, Moore said. Bowman and a couple of his customers moved Nunn and a vehicle to the parking lot of a nearby fast-food restaurant and then called 911, Moore said. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager