Dakota
Bismarcktribune.com ■ Bismarck Tribune
Tuesday, March 4, 2014 ■ Page 5B
Man who made drugs that killed 2 teens gets 171/2 years
By DAVE KOLPACK
Associated Press
FARGO — A North Dakota man
who told police he was a hobby
chemist who cooked the synthetic drugs that led to the overdose
deaths of two teens in 2012 was
sentenced Monday to 17½ years
in prison.
Andrew Spofford is the 12th
person sentenced in the case that
began with arrests of distributors
in the Grand Forks area and ultimately led investigators to track
the sale of the chemicals to an
online business in Texas. Spofford’s prison term is the longest
by five years.
Authorities said the drugs
manufactured by Spofford, 22,
were stolen and eventually
wound up in the hands 18-yearold Christian Bjerk, of Grand
Forks, and 17-year-old Elijah Stai,
of Park Rapids, Minn. Bjerk and
Stai died within
two weeks of each
other in June 2012.
The parents of
Bjerk and Spofford
gave emotional
statements in Mond a y ’s t w o - h o u r
hear ing. Debbie
Bjerk was first to
Spofford
testify and started
by playing a threeminute video that showed her
son dressed in his No. 60 Grand
Forks Red River football jersey
during a ceremony at one of the
high school’s games.
“ I ’m s h ow i n g t h i s v i d e o
because most of the people in
this courtroom have never met
my son,” she said, turning to supporters seated behind Spofford,
who watched the entire clip.
Debbie Bjerk said her 6-foot-4,
240-pound son was considered
“one of the toughest kids on the
team,” but he was no match for
the powerful drugs. She recalled
how one of the witnesses heard
him call out “Mom, Mom” as he
suffered on a sidewalk in
57-degree temperatures and soft
rain after taking the drugs.
“Synthetic drugs are nothing
more than poison,” she said.
Her husband, Keith Bjerk, said
he knew nothing about the
chemicals until his son died. He
depicted Spofford as a callous
and cold person who only cared
about making money.
“This guy’s a drug dealer.
That’s what he did for a living.
That’s his legacy. That’s what he’s
going to leave for his family,” he
said.
Spofford’s mother, Victoria
Spofford, started by expressing
her sympathy to the Bjerks and
added that she can’t imagine
their pain. But she said they
painted a picture of her son that
wasn’t true.
“He would never, ever intentionally hurt someone,” she said,
speaking through loud sobs.
“This is all so crazy.”
Spofford’s father, David Spofford, said his son made bad
choices but wasn’t alone in this
case. He said he didn’t mean to be
disrespectful to any of the victims
but wondered out loud if there
wasn’t a “little bit of responsibility on the other side of the aisle.”
David Spofford ended with
quotes from two former presidents and a U.S. Supreme Court
justice all questioning federal
mandatory minimum sentences
for first-time and nonviolent
offenders.
Andrew Spofford, who pleaded
guilty in October to five counts,
faced a minimum mandatory
sentence of 20 years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson gave him credit for cooperat-
ing with authorities, including
information that led to the arrest
of Charles Carlton, of Katy, Texas,
the man accused of selling Spofford the chemicals.
Carlton is scheduled for a
change of plea hearing in a week.
He pleaded not guilty last year to
a charge of conspiracy to possess
with intent to distribute controlled substances resulting in
death.
“These particular drugs are as
bad as it gets,” Erickson said.
“Nobody knows what they do.
Nobody knows the long-term
effects.”
Andrew Spofford apologized
first to the Bjerk family and then
to his own family, who he said
don’t deserve the misery. He said
he thinks about the deaths of
Bjerk and Stai every day.
“I wish I could say something
to make it better for anyone in
here,” Spofford said.
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