Although I try to stay out of the media due to public opinion on my son's case, I do occasionally feel I need to speak out. I cannot even imagine the pain of losing a child or loved one to a drug overdose. I came close to losing my son as well. He had a severe opioid addiction. I slept in fear of a call coming. That call was about his arrest & my world fell apart. It's a nightmare our family deals with every single day. The public judges him on media information. They don't know him so assume he's a horrible person who had no regard for human life. He's not. He is kind & caring & ready to help anyone. His addiction took away the ability to think of dangers and consequences. I am not defending him because he's my son. I'm defending him because I know who he is deep down & that he's not someone who was in a dangerous lifestyle to make profit off others addictions. He had lost everything due to his addiction. He made bad choices due to his own addiction. I don't think he could have made the right choices at that point when his addiction became so severe. We had no idea it was opioids. He is 1 year clean now but will live the nightmare of his past for the rest of his life. I can't speak about his case as it's before the courts but please, before you judge, I ask that you reserve judgement until all the facts are out. The pain we are all in while he faces an uncertain future & the pain he has been through fighting this addiction & living with everything that happened as a result is something I can't begin to describe. I am a mom too & I am hurting too. My son didn't die but it was a matter of time. Of course he will have to pay the price to society that the courts decide. We always taught our kids to obey the law & respect the law. This horror we live with isn't something we ever could have imagined. Every time the media shows his story again, we are sick. My heart is with all mom's who have lost a child. I know you don't know me or my son so you may hate us & that's your right but I just needed to say my side.

Drug addiction has stolen so many lives & we all have our pain.

Thank you,

Tina Yarmey