Nearly four years ago, 18-year-old Kevin Cummings died of an drug overdose. Earlier this week, the man who supplied him with the substances was sentenced in the case.

Nathan Windham, a Hillsborough resident, pleaded guilty in Orange County court on Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter — a lesser charge as part of a plea deal. Windham spoke to the judge and the family of Cummings in court, apologizing for and accepting his actions.

Cummings, who also lived in Hillsborough, graduated from Orange High School a few months before his death on November 13, 2018. He died from overdosing on fentanyl-laced heroin, which Windham traded him for marijuana. Despite being before North Carolina enacted its Death by Distribution law, investigators arrested Windham in March 2019 on second-degree murder charges in connection to Cummings’ death. At the time, Hillsborough Police said “an extensive investigation” between their department, the North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office and the victim’s family led to the arrest.

With the plea deal, Windham will serve between 27 to 42 months in prison on the manslaughter charge instead of up to the 26 years he initially faced. Tuesday’s ruling also deemed he could serve a suspended sentence of 9 to 18 months with two years of probation. Windham’s defense attorney Tuesday reportedly told the court his client has been sober for 18 months and is involved in the addiction recovery community after being out on bond.

WRAL reported that Cummings’ mother was in the courtroom for the sentencing and embraced Windham afterward. She told the television station she “forgives” Windham, who reportedly met Cummings in jail while the teenager was there for a brief stint on a charge of simple assault.

Windham is set to report to prison on Friday, according to WRAL.

Kevin Cummings’ obituary can be found here.

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