One man lost who he was in late 2013; another man lost his life.

“I was in a bad place, and when I was on drugs, I’m not who I am,” Christopher Nichols told the judge last week. “... Drugs have literally ruined my life, in more ways than one. It’s hurt not only me, my family ... him.”

The “him” is Jeremy Ernest, who ultimately overdosed on black tar heroin that Nichols gave him in December 2013 in Powell. Ernest was 30.

On Thursday, District Court Judge Steven Cranfill ordered Nichols to serve three to five years in prison on a felony charge of delivering heroin.

Nichols’ defense attorney, Ian Sandefer of Casper, had argued for a sentence of probation, noting that Nichols turned his life around following Ernest’s death.

Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Blatt had asked for a five- to eight-year sentence, arguing that Ernest might still be alive if not for Nichols providing the heroin and being reluctant to call 911.

“We got the life sentence of pain,” Ernest’s mother wrote in a letter read to Judge Cranfill, asking that Nichols serve five to eight years behind bars. She said the family will never hear Ernest’s laugh or see his smile again, while his 5-year-old daughter will grow up not knowing her father.

“She asks where her daddy is every day,” Ernest’s mother wrote.

In the early morning hours of Dec. 4, Ernest reportedly used heroin he’d received from Nichols and passed out in Nichols’ apartment.

Ernest’s roommate, Morgan T. Wiles, later told authorities that Nichols was reluctant to call 911 because of the drugs in his apartment. When EMTs from Powell Valley Healthcare arrived, Nichols “took an abnormally long time answering the door for an emergency call,” then-Powell Police Investigator Mike Hall wrote in an affidavit filed with the case.

Ernest ended up spending the next 15 and a half hours in the hospital. While there, Wiles found some of the heroin in the pocket of Ernest’s pants and — although he told Ernest not to use it — he left it there, Hall wrote of Wiles’ account.

At around 5:10 p.m., Ernest was released from Powell Valley Hospital, but he apparently took more of the heroin not long after getting home. Nichols — who lived next door to Ernest and Wiles — found Ernest had collapsed. At 6:33 p.m., after first summoning Wiles and Wiles’ girlfriend to the apartment, Nichols again called 911.

That time, Ernest could not be saved.

Nichols said in court last week that he’d got the heroin in an attempt to “self-medicate” mental problems that include ADHD and anxiety disorders.

After a local counseling service “kept passing me through people, ... I didn’t make the right decision and kind of took things into my own hands and lost myself again,” Nichols said in court. “And one thing led to the next and, you know, I brought back a substance.”

Sandefer, Nichols’ attorney, said Ernest had “kept insisting” that Nichols “share” the heroin and said Nichols eventually gave Ernest a small, pea-size portion.

(A couple of informants told police at the time that Nichols was selling the heroin he’d acquired in California, and had sold marijuana before, too.)

Sandefer suggested that Ernest actually intended to take his own life, citing reports that he was depressed and going through a breakup at the time.

“We’re not here on a negligent homicide case, your honor,” Sandefer told the judge. “We’re here because somebody with a drug addiction sought out drugs in Mr. Nichols’ apartment.”

He noted that a misdemeanor count of negligent homicide (along with a felony count related to steroids Nichols had in his apartment) were dropped as part of a plea deal.

Prosecutor Blatt conceded that Ernest had a history of drug abuse, had used other substances (apparently prescription drugs and alcohol) before his death and willingly took the heroin.

However, Blatt noted that black tar heroin is not only “extremely dangerous” and was determined to be the cause of Ernest’s death, it’s also uncommon in Park County.

“Although I understand Mr. Ernest is not an innocent party to his own demise, if he wouldn’t have had access to the heroin (from Nichols), I would submit to the court that we wouldn’t be here today and Mr. Ernest may well still be alive,” Blatt argued.

He also noted that Nichols was reportedly slow to call 911.

“He was more concerned about what would happen to him while Mr. Ernest is overdosing on drugs that he had provided ... before addressing the concerns of Mr. Ernest,” Blatt said.

Ernest’s family said they hold Nichols responsible for his death.

“Jeremy was so worth saving,” said the letter from Ernest’s mother.

Wiles also faulted Nichols. In late June 2014, Wiles tried pulling Nichols from his car to fight him. According to Nichols, Wiles “started saying that Nichols killed someone ... and shouldn’t be out of jail,” wrote Powell Police Officer Danny Hite in an affidavit.

Wiles ended up serving 10 days in jail and paying $490 for battery.

Nichols had made bail in mid-January 2014 and made changes in his life. He finished the Northwest College classes he’d missed after his December 2013 arrest; he got a job at a construction company in Riverton and became a valued employee; he moved his girlfriend from Arizona to Riverton after she became pregnant, and they’ve been raising their child together; he’s began getting psychological treatment; and test results show he’s stayed away from drugs and alcohol.

“He has made some mistakes, but there aren’t a lot of people that can say they’ve completely changed their life for the better — but that’s what he’s done, and I’m so proud of him for that,” Nichols’ girlfriend, Tia Della Chiesa, said in court.

Nichols’ boss, Cody Post of Riverton, described Nichols as a hard worker who’s made his family his priority.

“I don’t see it being a good thing for anybody involved for Chris (Nichols) to spend any substantial time in jail,” Post said, adding, “(Ernest’s) daughter’s growing up without a father and we don’t need to make two of them today.”

An apologetic and tearful Nichols said he’d learned his lesson.

“I just ask that you give me a chance to keep proving myself, to show you that I can be a functional member of society and a father,” he said to the judge.

Cranfill said it wasn’t an easy decision. In imposing prison time, the judge said he wanted to be consistent; a comparable overdose from around that time also resulted in three to five years. Cranfill also noted it was “a delivery charge that has some very disturbing consequences to it.”

The judge said he would recommend Nichols be entered into the Department of Corrections Intensive Treatment Unit if he’s interested.