GREENSBORO—Patrick Anthony Rowland, the Duke undergraduate who accompanied a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill first-year the night she fatally overdosed in Kilgo dorm in March, was sentenced to three months in federal prison Tuesday.
Rowland was charged for using a cell phone to distribute cocaine and marijuana from September 2022 to March 2023, after both he and UNC first-year Elizabeth Grace Burton overdosed on cocaine laced with fentanyl in a Kilgo common room on March 9.
Rowland, who was not charged with Burton’s death or his actions following her overdose, pleaded guilty in June. Burton’s overdose proved fatal, while Rowland “threw up for the next 19 hours afterwards,” according to his testimony in a criminal case against Carlissa Allen, one of his drug sources.
He will also pay a $2,500 fine and complete one year of supervised release following his prison term, which he will report to next March.
While both Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DeFranco and Rowland’s attorney Emilia Beskind asked U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles for a probationary sentence, Eagles opted to impose an active sentence instead.
Eagles said that the “seriousness of the offense to the community in which [Rowland] lived, particularly the educational community” is what made an active sentence appropriate. She added that Rowland’s offense was no less serious because he was distributing to college students.
As Beskind made her case for a probationary sentence, Eagles asked whether probation treated the offense “as seriously as it should,” referencing prior fentanyl overdoses on college campuses in North Carolina.
“I would like to be a stronger, kinder person,” Rowland said during the sentencing hearing. “I see the pain in this room and I feel it too.”
Rowland is currently on an indefinite leave of absence from Duke. During the hearing, Beskind indicated that there is a possibility that he could return to the University.
According to court documents, Rowland’s phone records showed approximately 1,140 text messages between Rowland and Cye Frasier, known commonly as “The Barber.” Rowland purchased marijuana and cocaine from Frasier, and then supplied the drugs to other Duke students.
Allen and Frasier sold marijuana and cocaine to both Rowland and Burton on multiple occasions before. Burton initially wanted the cocaine, and had paid for it early in the morning of the March 9 overdose. Frasier was the one who sold the cocaine that night, and neither Rowland nor Burton was aware that it was laced with fentanyl.
After Rowland and Burton each snorted a line of cocaine off a common room table, Rowland felt a “very intense head rush” that left him dizzy. Soon after, Burton fell asleep, and instead of calling paramedics, Rowland called Frasier, who returned and helped carry Burton’s body into Rowland’s Kilgo dorm room. Rowland soon after told a residential assistant, who called 911.
Before sentencing, Burton’s mother addressed the court. Lisa Anne Burton spoke on the events of March 9, saying that her daughter died a “terrifying and dramatic death.”
“One simple phone call to 911 would have saved her life … Choices were made again and again for 80 minutes, robbing my child of a life and future,” Burton’s mother said, referring to the time that passed between Burton initially showing signs of overdosing and when Rowland told the RA to call 911.
During the hearing, Beskind put Rowland’s actions on March 9 into context. She told the court that Rowland had overdosed from the same fentanyl that Burton took, and that he did not know what an overdose looked like. She added that it was dark outside where Burton had fallen asleep, and once Rowland saw her in the dorm light, he realized he had to call for help.
Burton’s mother also spoke about raising Burton as a single mother and how proud she had been of her personal and academic accomplishments. After her daughter's death, Burton’s mother was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression and was hospitalized for suicidal ideation, she said.
“My daughter was given a death sentence. I was given a life sentence,” Burton’s mother said.
Beskind argued that Rowland had been forthcoming to the police following the incident, and was cooperative in the investigation. She explained that Rowland turned to marijuana to cope with “social pressures” after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although Rowland was not being charged with Burton’s death, Eagles asserted that “the legal system takes into account the consequences of behavior.” She compared the charges to how running a red light could prove harmless, but the consequences can be much worse if another car is hit.
“This could’ve happened any of the times he himself distributed cocaine to many people,” she said, noting that cocaine is a dangerous drug even when it is not laced with fentanyl.
Clara Harms contributed reporting.
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Jazper Lu is a Trinity senior and centennial/elections editor for The Chronicle's 120th volume. He was previously managing editor for Volume 119.
Adway S. Wadekar is a Trinity junior and former news editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.