COLUMBIA, S.C. _ Anthony "A.J." Hunt dropped out of the University of South Carolina and was making thousands of dollars selling oxycodone, marijuana and other drugs.
When a depressed 19-year-old friend from USC asked him for drugs to help kill herself, Hunt turned a profit selling her the painkillers and anxiety meds and even advised her _ over the course of three tries _ on how to take a lethal dose.
On Tuesday, Hunt, 24, was sentenced to 24 years and five months in prison for the deals that resulted in Rachel Bandman's death.
Judge Michelle Childs opted for harshest sentence available. Hunt could have received as little as 20 years in prison.
"I understand you're young, but you're not 12," said Childs, who _ like the prosecutor, assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Garner _ noted that not only did Hunt fail to prevent his friend's suicide, he also gave her instructions and profited from her death.
During a 45-minute hearing, Garner read text messages between Bandman and Hunt from the days leading up to her suicide. Those texts left no doubt Hunt knowingly helped a severely depressed USC student end her own life.
"I need more for it to happen," Bandman wrote to Hunt after one failed suicide attempt.
At one point, Hunt asked Bandman why she hadn't killed herself yet, and she texted him that "I wanted to wait until my roommates are gone." At another point, she texted him, "It's just frustrating that I can't die."
Hunt eventually sold Bandman oxycodone _ a highly addictive and widely abused prescription painkiller _ and gave her instructions to take 10 30-milligram tablets of the drug along with wine and Nyquil.
"Hunt had an opportunity to help Ms. Bandman," Garner said. "Not only did he not help her, but he provided instructions to commit suicide."
Hunt's public defender, Katherine Evatt, argued he should receive only 20 years in prison. She said the text messages also showed Hunt trying to discourage Bandman from committing suicide.
"I don't want you to hurt yourself (and) I don't want you to hurt yourself because of me," Evatt read.
Evatt said Bandman had tried to kill herself before.
Bandman at one point wrote to Hunt, "You're not the only one I could get pills from."
"A pattern emerged of a young troubled girl not wanting to live anymore," Evatt said referring to the text messages between Bandman and Hunt.
Evatt contended Hunt still loved Bandman, saying he kept a copy of her funeral program with him and had a tattoo of a rose on his ribcage because Bandman's middle name was Rose.
Evatt also read part of Bandman's suicide note.
"A.J. was my angel. He was the only person who believed in me," Evatt read. "I'm doing this because of the mean people in the world. He was the only one who understood the pain I was going through."
Hunt, who wore a jumpsuit and was shackled, apologized to Bandman's family, who weren't present in the courtroom, as well as his own family, who sat behind him during the sentencing hearing.
"I'm sorry," he said fighting off tears while turning to them.
Hunt called Bandman the smartest and most beautiful person he ever met, despite her troubled past. He said she would harm herself and self-medicate.
"I've seen Rachel fight many battles. I will always love Rachel," Hunt said.
The death of Bandman, a public relations major at USC and Chi Omega sorority sister from Virginia, was at first classified as a suicide.
But after Hunt was arrested for drug dealing in March 2017, an investigator searching his telephone found Hunt's text messages with Bandman shortly before her death.
The messages documented both Bandman's intent to kill herself and Hunt's role in her death, including his intention to make hundreds of dollars from her by providing her with a deadly dose of pills.
That evidence led to February 2018 federal charges against Hunt that led to Tuesday's prison sentence.
Bandman first told Hunt she wanted to kill herself in late January 2016, according to DEA agent Adam Roberson, who testified in an earlier Hunt hearing.
Hunt sold her Xanax and other drugs, but that didn't work. So Bandman bought more Xanax from Hunt, but that just made her fall unconscious, the DEA agent testified.
"Mr. Hunt was very surprised she was still alive," Roberson testified.
Bandman wouldn't give up, and Hunt continued keeping her as a paying customer, this time selling her oxycodone tablets for $300. He told her she should crush half of them into power and snort them, and take the rest by mouth, Roberson testified.
The last of three attempts worked. Bandman was found dead on Jan. 28, 2016, at The Hub, her student apartment building in downtown Columbia.
Hunt, who lived on Greene Street just across from USC's College of Nursing, apparently ran a thriving drug selling business, dealing oxycodone and marijuana to college students, according to evidence in the case. When he was arrested in March 2017, police found $10,000 in cash, a .45 caliber pistol and marijuana in his house.
Oxycodone is responsible for thousands of deaths each year, mostly due to unintended overdoses. Xanax, used for anxiety, is another highly addictive prescription. Both are widely abused.
Also attending Hunt's hearing Tuesday was U.S. Attorney Sherri Lydon, who has worked to spread awareness about opioid abuse to young people, especially at S.C. colleges.
Lydon said her office notified student newspapers at Wofford, USC, Clemson and College of Charleston of today's hearing. None showed up.
Lydon told reporters, "We are going to prosecute people who deal in drugs that result in deaths."
