GERMANTOWN, Md. (AP) – An oral surgeon in Maryland has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for supplying his girlfriend with addictive anesthesia solutions, resulting in her death from a fatal overdose. James Ryan, 50, formerly operated Evolution Oral Surgery in Germantown.
The victim, Sarah Harris, died at 25 years old, weighing only 83 pounds. Circuit Court Judge Cheryl A. McCally imposed a 45-year sentence, far exceeding state guidelines, stating that Ryan’s actions played a major role in Harris’s death and that he exploited a position of trust.
The sentencing guidelines, which are not binding, suggested 10 to 25 years, but the judge was persuaded to go well beyond this due to the facts that emerged at trial.
The victim’s mother, Tina Harris, expressed satisfaction with the sentence, stating “I’m very, very satisfied” after the hearing.
Ryan met Harris several years prior when she was a patient at his practice. He then hired her, and they started dating and moved in together in a home in Clarksburg. Text messages between the two, introduced at Ryan’s trial, showed them regularly communicating about Ryan bringing home drugs from his practice and IV equipment to administer them.
On the morning of Jan. 26, 2022, Ryan found Harris unresponsive in their living room. An autopsy showed that she died of “ketamine, propofol, and diazepam intoxication.”
Prosecutors argued that Ryan kept giving Harris the drugs he stole from his office, even as her condition deteriorated. They also noted that Ryan had performed CPR at their home to revive her from a previous overdose.
Ryan’s attorneys argued for a shorter term, emphasizing that one of the drugs found in Harris’s body was taken by her and stressing that Ryan was trying to treat her anxiety while keeping her off street drugs.
In the end, the judge sentenced Ryan to 45 years in prison for his role in Harris’s death, citing his dangerous actions, including introducing her to ketamine and keeping drugs in their home.
The victim, Sarah Harris, was described as a bright, graduating from Montgomery County’s Quince Orchard High School and winning the Miss Maryland Petite beauty contest in 2020. Her mother, Tina Harris, delivered emotional testimony during the sentencing, depicting the devastating impact of Ryan’s actions on her daughter.