Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that Mr. Shemar Jackson, 19, of Galloway Township, has been arrested and charged with Strict Liability Drug Induced Death in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-9a.
According to a statement released by Ocean County officials, on December 5, 2019, Toms River Township Police responded to a Toms River residence for a report of a 24-year-old unresponsive male.
Upon arrival, Toms River Township Police discovered that the male was already deceased from an apparent drug overdose.
A subsequent investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force and Toms River Township Police Department revealed that Jackson was the supplier of Heroin and Fentanyl that were sold to the victim on December 4, 2019.
Authoritities say a further investigation and laboratory analysis confirmed that the Heroin and Fentanyl found in the victim’s system – the same Heroin and Fentanyl supplied by Jackson and sold to the victim -- were the cause of the young man’s death.
Police arrested Jackson was at his residence in Galloway Township Thursday by officers of the Galloway Township Police Department and Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
“We will continue to prosecute strict liability deaths to send a clear message to these drug dealers that you will be held responsible. Anyone that chooses to pedal potentially deadly narcotics in Ocean County will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated.