A man accused of selling heroin that caused the deaths of two people pleaded guilty Wednesday in Wilson County Superior Court. 

James Jerome Bass, 53, who initially faced two counts of second-degree murder and other drug charges in the 2018 and 2020 deaths, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and the sale of heroin in connection to the cases. 

Bass entered an Alford plea — where a defendant doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges there is evidence that could lead to a conviction. 

THE DEATHS

The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office charged Bass with second-degree murder in 36-year-old Rebecca Ann Kemp’s overdose death on Dec. 1, 2018. 

Prosecutor Joel Stadiem told the court Wednesday that Bass sold heroin to Kemp’s then-boyfriend, 41-year-old Bennie Thomas Amerson. Amerson bought the drugs from Bass for himself and Kemp and took the heroin back to the house to use, officials said. Kemp subsequently died of an overdose. 

After being charged with Kemp’s death, Bass bonded out, prosecutors said. He was then arrested in a second overdose death that claimed the life of 26-year-old John Clayton Price. 

Stadiem told the court that on Jan. 11, 2020, Bass met with Price and sold him heroin laced with fentanyl —  a powerful opioid that’s 50 to 100 more times potent than morphine. Price returned home, took the drugs and died of an overdose, according to officials. 

Wilson County Superior Court Judge Lamont Wiggins sentenced Bass in both cases Wednesday under North Carolina’s structured sentencing laws. Bass, who had no prior criminal history, was sentenced to an active term of 12 to 24 months for the involuntary manslaughter charge. He also received credit for time served in pretrial confinement, which equaled more than a year, according to court proceedings. 

Bass was sentenced to 13 to 23 months for the drug charge. That sentence was suspended for 36 months and he will be placed on supervised probation for 36 months. Bass will also be electronically monitored for a year. 

Other sentencing conditions include bans on alcohol and drug use and possessing guns or drug paraphernalia. He also received a $1,000 fine and will be required to complete 96 hours of community service within two years. 

AMERSON SENTENCED

Amerson, Kemp’s boyfriend at the time of her death, was also charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and the delivery of heroin in July 2019 on the condition of testifying truthfully for the state against Bass if he were to go to trial. 

Wiggins sentenced Amerson to 17 to 30 months in prison, which was suspended for 36 months. Amerson will be placed on supervised probation for three years. For the first year, he will also be electronically monitored. 

Other conditions of his sentence included a $1,000 fine, 96 hours of community service and bans on possessing drugs, drug paraphernalia and guns.