Defendant pleads guilty to drug possession three years after teen's overdose

A 23-year-old Carson City man, once accused of supplying a near fatal dose of heroin to a teenage boy, pleaded guilty Monday to possession of a controlled substance.

Randy Scott Isaacs is requesting District Judge Michael Gibbons sentence him to a drug diversion program so he can continue without interruption the recovery he began in August 2007.

"I am really proud of Scott," said lawyer Tod Young. "He has done a tremendous job in changing his life. He has completed inpatient treatment, continued with his counseling, kept the same job and purchased and fixed up his own house."

Isaacs originally was accused of supplying black tar heroin on Aug. 11, 2007, to David Philips, a 16-year-old Douglas High School sophomore.

Paramedics found Philips unconscious in a Gardnerville home 17 hours after he allegedly smoked heroin with three juvenile friends.

Near death, his heart stopped enroute to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. He suffered brain injuries and damage to his left arm due to oxygen deprivation.

Philips spent two months in a coma at the hospital before he was transferred to the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research in Houston.

Shortly after the incident, Isaacs was charged with sales of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. The district attorney's office dismissed the charges without prejudice and faced a three-year statute of limitations to refile.

"He had heroin balloons on his person and was in custody for quite some time," said Tom Gregory, chief criminal deputy district attorney.

"Back in 2007, the young man overdosed. We thought he was going to die," Gregory said. "Miraculously, he is still with us, although he suffers some debilitations."

Gregory said it was alleged that Isaacs may have been involved, but the state waited to see how Philips was recovering and whether he could testify.

"In all fairness to the defendant, we never were able to file a charge as to the supplier We had insufficient evidence," Gregory said.

Facing expiration of the statute of limitations, the state filed a drug possession charge.

"He received a summons and turned himself in," Gregory said. "It was through no fault of the defendant or no fault of the state."

Young said Isaacs spent three months in jail after the incident.

"His life is way different," Young said. "I hope Scott just continues his life the way he has. He is an example of a young man who really changed. He worked hard to overcome his addiction. He's sober. He's going to stay sober," Young said.

"We're three years down the road and he hasn't used," Young said.

Gibbons set sentencing for Sept. 27 and asked for a presentencing report from the department of Parole and Probation.

The state has agreed not to oppose a diversion program.

The statute mandates probation in most circumstances with an underlying sentence of up to four years in prison.

"You've done extremely well," Gibbons said. "I am looking at the information for the very first time with an extremely thin file. It doesn't mean I am going to ignore the recommendation. I need more information."

Philips, 19, continues to recover from the effects of the overdose.

He divides his time between his father's home in Gardnerville and his mother's residence in Texas where he continues therapy.