Mar 7, 2023 3 min read

A drug dealer convicted in December of giving fentanyl-laced cocaine to a man who died after ingesting it in April 2020 refused to take responsibility during his sentencing Monday for delivering the deadly batch of drugs.

While Sherman “Detroit Shawn” Springer offered his condolences to family members of Lonnie Barnes who were seated in the courtroom during his sentencing hearing, he told Judge Valarie Costanzo that he “was not the author of Mr. Barnes’ tragic death.”

Springer continued to maintain his innocence despite his conviction at trial and claimed that he was only guilty of removing a trash bag following the fatal overdose.

That prompted a strong rebuke from Washington County Assistant District Attorney Rachel Wheeler, who noted that Springer has a lengthy criminal record and was released from federal prison just three months before giving Barnes the cocaine.

“He has failed to take responsibility for his actions in this case,” Wheeler said.

She said Springer was supposedly a friend of Barnes, but he never tried to save the victim from the overdose and didn’t call 911. Instead, he “cleaned up the scene” before leaving Barnes to die and was unable to be located by authorities for nearly a year.

“He has done nothing but this kind of behavior his entire life,” Wheeler said of Springer dealing drugs since he arrived in Washington in 1993.

Springer, 50, was convicted by a Washington County jury Dec. 8 on charges of drug delivery resulting in death, possession with intent to deliver and drug possession. On Monday, Costanzo sentenced Springer to serve nine to 18 years in a state prison and pay the funeral expenses to the family of Barnes. Springer will be given time served for the two years he spent at the Washington County jail while awaiting trial.

Barnes died April 15, 2020, in Washington after ingesting what he thought was only cocaine but also included the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl. Investigators said Springer had given Barnes the cocaine, and then packed up evidence from the scene in a trash bag to discard it. Washington County detectives charged him two months later, but he was not captured until January 2021, when the U.S. Marshals Service agents found him at a Carroll Township residence.

Family and friends of Barnes attended the sentencing and told Costanzo how his death has affected them.

“He was kind-hearted, funny and would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need,” Christopher Barnes said of his late father. “I have no hate in my heart for the defendant, but I feel like he should pay for what he did.”