BRENTWOOD — A 27-year-old Tilton man will serve three to seven years in state prison for his role in the overdose death of a toddler in 2020.
Dana Dolan was sentenced Wednesday in Rockingham Superior Court for reckless conduct that led to a 21-month-old girl dying from a fentanyl overdose inside a truck at the RMZ Truck Stop in Londonderry on Nov. 16, 2020.
Dolan, along with Mark Geremia and Shawna Cote, the girl’s parents, fell asleep after engaging in drug use in the vehicle, leaving the toddler and her four-year-old sister unsupervised.
A.G., known in court papers and proceedings because of her age, died from acute fentanyl intoxication.
Dolan entered a guilty plea to reckless conduct for unbuckling the child from her car seat in the backseat when he planned to use drugs.
Dolan has already served 901 days in pretrial commitment which will be applied to his sentence.
He was additionally sentenced to 3½ to 7 years for another reckless conduct charge and a falsifying evidence charge. Both will be served concurrently and will be suspended for 10 years.
Conditions of his sentence include mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, no unsupervised visits with anyone under 16-years-old and no contact with A.G.’s family or her parents.
Family members of the deceased child said they felt Dolan deserved a longer sentence for the crime.
“Her life didn’t even have a chance,” A.G.’s grandfather, Mark Geremia Sr., said in an impact statement.
The state read his message as he said he did not want to appear in court because he rejected Dolan’s plea bargain and the state’s deal. Geremia Sr. said Dolan’s negligence led to A.G.’s death and he couldn’t understand why Dolan unbuckled his granddaughter.
Grandmother Melody Nugent addressed Dolan in the courtroom, emphasizing the youthful spirit her family lost nearly three years ago.
Nugent said not a day goes by she doesn’t think of A.G., who she said was “full of life, laughing and playing with her toys.” She wanted the maximum sentence for negligence and no parole.
“(My granddaughters) both relied on adults to protect them and you were one of the adults who failed them,” Nugent said.
State prosecutor Kristin Vartanian spoke about the impact the child’s death had not only on family members, but police at the scene and the nurses who cleaned the girl’s feet after her death.
“They have felt the impact of this case,” Vartanian said.
Vartanian said Dolan was cooperative in the investigation. He attempted to administer Narcan to the toddler and cooperated with Londonderry Police on scene. He wept as state prosecutors and family members spoke about the young girl.
“On November 16, 2020, I woke up to a real life nightmare,” Dolan said with tears.
He said he’s felt guilt ever since A.G.’s death.
“In my addicted mind, I threw away my morals and common sense,” he said.
He acknowledged the two young girls should not have been in the situation and apologized to her family members and young sister who was in the car when A.G. died.
“(A.G.) deserves to be here and I can’t even describe how sorry I am,” Dolan said. “If I could give my life for hers, I would do it in a heartbeat.”
Judge David Ruoff said he took into consideration the sentencing of Cote when handing Dolan his sentence.
Cote was sentenced for the toddler’s death in May 2022 to at least five years in prison. Geremia pleaded not guilty to charges including negligent homicide, reckless manslaughter, reckless conduct with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to falsify evidence.
Geremia’s jury trial scheduled for September was canceled. It is unclear when the trial will take place.
While Ruoff said he felt Dolan had a different criminal and moral culpability not being the child’s parent, a child still died because of his actions.
“This was a two-year-old who had her whole life ahead and no ability to get herself out of the situation,” Ruoff said.