Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Pemberton Township Police Chief David H. Jantas announced that a drug dealer from the Browns Mills section of Pemberton Township has been charged with causing the death of a customer by supplying the fentanyl-laced heroin that led to her fatal overdose earlier this year.
Officials say Mr. Terrance D. Walker, 37, of the 3300 block of Liberty Street, was charged with Strict Liability for Drug-Induced Death (First Degree), Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Third Degree), Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Third Degree) and Intent to Distribute a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Third Degree).
A detention hearing for Walker will be held in Superior Court in Mount Holly. The case will then be prepared for presentation to a Burlington County Grand Jury for possible indictment.
Officials say the investigation began in May 2019 after Tessa McCullough, 21, was taken to a Mount Holly hospital following an overdose in her Pemberton Township home.
She was subsequently pronounced dead at the hospital. The investigation revealed that the drugs that led to the fatal overdose were purchased from Walker.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined that her death was due to fentanyl toxicity.
Walker was taken into custody yesterday at a Maple Shade motel by the Burlington County Sheriff's Department Warrant Unit, the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Pemberton Township Police Department.
The case was investigated by the Pemberton Township Police Department, the BCPO Gang, Gun and Narcotics Task Force and the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit, with assistance from the Mount Holly Township Police Department - NJ . Walker will be prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Jeremy Lackey.
All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.