Man in New Mexico sentenced to life in prison for supplying drugs to teen who died from overdose

The man who supplied heroin to an 18-year-old New Mexico high school student who died from an overdose in 2011 has been sentenced to life in prison.

A federal judge Thursday sentenced 36-year-old Raymond Moya for distributing heroin to Cameron Weiss on Aug. 12, 2011.

Hours later, Weiss was found dead in his home.

"I don't know if it's closure. It is a sense of relief, because it has been a long eight years," said Jennifer Weiss-Burke, Cameron's mom. "Now that this is past us, there's a little bit of closure. We don't have to constantly relive the last week of Cameron's life."

Weiss started using heroin after he became addicted to opioid painkillers he was prescribed after a sports-related injury.

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Weiss-Burke said it does feel like justice has been served.

"It's not going to bring Cameron back and there are so many other people out there struggling every day with their addiction," she said. "This isn't going to solve that problem, but it sends a message."

For Weiss-Burke, it's a message of hope for the families of victims, but also a message to drug traffickers.

"If you're going to deal drugs, and you're going to drug traffic and traffic massive quantities of drugs, we're not going to put up with it anymore," she said.

While it's rare to get a conviction in a case like this, Weiss-Burke said it took a lot of people and voices to get not just a guilty conviction but a life sentence for the man who aided in the death of her son.

"There are people out there. There's law enforcement. There are attorneys. There's people out there fighting for justice for their loved ones," Weiss-Burke said.

Since her son's death, Weiss-Burke has done a lot to keep his memory alive, such as creating Serenity Mesa, a rehab center for youth struggling with drug addiction.

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