Battle Creek Drug Dealer Sentenced For Leaving Man In Snow To Die

A Battle Creek drug dealer will serve life in prison after he left an overdosing man to die in the snow.

The Battle Creek Enquirer says that 37-year-old Jerrell Finch was in Calhoun County Court on Monday to get his sentence, after he was found guilty earlier this year of second-degree murder and delivery of a controlled substance. Finch told police that in January of 2017, 45-year-old Michael Newman came to his home asking for him to get him heroin; Finch eventually did so, and Newman collapsed shortly after taking the substance.

Authorities later determined he had actually taken fentanyl, not heroin. Finch then drove Newman to a street in Springfield and left him there, eventually coming back twice, first to take his cell phone and then with a woman, who called 911. That 911 call led authorities to Finch. Finch claimed his actions were made in panic to avoid getting involved with police, and said he had hoped Newman would recover consciousness on his own.

He was sentenced Monday to life in prison on the murder charge, and 37 and a half to 75 years on the drug charge.