Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a Willingboro drug dealer has been indicted for the death of a 23-year-old man who fatally overdosed three years ago in Mansfield Township on fentanyl-laced heroin he sold to him the day before he died.
A grand jury indicted Antonio Hunte, 39, on charges of Strict Liability for Drug-Induced Death (First Degree), Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Third Degree), and Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance with Intent to Distribute (Third Degree).
The indictment was returned on February 1 and signed by Prosecutor Coffina. An arraignment has been scheduled for March 1 in Superior Court in Mount Holly.
The investigation began on March 22, 2019, after Mansfield Township police officers were dispatched to a Route 206 motel for a report of an unresponsive male.
Upon arrival, they found the victim suffering from the effects of a drug overdose.
He was taken to Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly and died the next day.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined he died from fentanyl toxicity.
The investigation determined the drugs used in the overdose had been purchased from Hunte.
The case was presented to the grand jury by Assistant Prosecutor Michael Angermeier, supervisor of the BCPO Gang, Gun and Narcotics Task Force (GGNTF).
The case was investigated by the Mansfield Township Police Department, the Willingboro Township Police Department and the GGNTF.
An indictment is an accusation.
Defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.