Pubdate: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 Source: Wisconsin State Journal (WI) Copyright: 2006 Madison Newspapers, Inc. Contact: http://www.madison.com/wsj/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/506 Author: Ed Treleven Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) MAN AVOIDS PRISON IN FRIEND'S HEROIN DEATH Jonathan Lehnherr won't go to prison for the heroin overdose death of his friend, Michael Ace, but a Dane County judge put him on a very short leash. Circuit Judge James Martin initially sentenced Lehnherr, 25, to three years in prison for causing Ace's death on May 5, 2005, at their West Wilson Street apartment. But he stayed the prison sentence and put Lehnherr on seven years of probation, with a year in the Dane County Jail as a condition of his probation. "I am hopeful there has been some kind of ephiphany that you understand how serious this is," Martin told Lehnherr. "And it cannot happen and should not happen." If Lehnherr's probation is revoked, he would immediately begin to serve the prison sentence. Lehnherr twice left the apartment to buy heroin for himself, Ace and a woman, then returned and injected Ace with the heroin. Ace, 31, died from a heroin overdose but also had cocaine, oxycodone, trazadone and clonazapam in his system, according to an autopsy report. Assistant District Attorney Brian Ausmus recommended a term of probation for Lehnherr because, he said, Lehnherr has a number of factors working in his favor - that he told the woman to call 911 and tried to revive Ace using CPR, and that he stayed to answer questions from police rather than flee. Lehnherr also pleaded no contest to first-degree reckless homicide rather than put Ace's family through the ordeal of a trial, Ausmus said. Also important, Ausmus said, was that Lehnherr has also helped police and prosecutors by identifying his alleged heroin source - Lavinia Mull, 26, of Madison, who is now serving a 10-year prison sentence for providing the heroin that killed 20-year-old Sarah Stellner in 2004. Mull is also charged with first-degree reckless homicide for Ace's death. She is set to stand trial in December. Ace's family asked that Lehnherr not be sentenced to prison, according to Lisa Andreas, a sentencing consultant who prepared a pre-sentence report for Lehnherr's defense. Ace's family did not attend Wednesday's hearing, but Andreas said Ace's sister told her Wednesday morning that Lehnherr and Ace had a very strong relationship and that her family believes Lehnherr is remorseful. Lehnherr apologized to Ace's family and vowed to beat his drug addiction. "When Mike died I lost someone very special to me," Lehnherr said. "I feel that I let him down." Martin said that if Lehnherr becomes eligible for the Treatment Alternative Program, a county drug treatment program for jail inmates, he would stay the last six months of Lehnherr's jail sentence. If he completes the program, he would not have to serve the last six months at all, Martin said. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman