A suspected drug dealer in New Jersey has been charged in the death of a man who overdosed on a cocktail of fentanyl and heroin, prosecutors said.
D’Andre Tubbs, 33, was charged Friday in the Aug. 16 death of a 35-year-old man discovered “already deceased” from an apparent OD at a Manchester home, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Tubbs, 33, was arrested three days later after investigators determined he supplied the heroin and fentanyl to the victim a day before the death. A toxicology analysis determined both drugs in the man’s system were the cause of his death, prosecutors said.
“As a consequence, Tubbs has been charged with strict liability drug induced death,” prosecutors said in a statement.
If convicted of the homicide charge, Tubbs, who has been locked up since his arrest, could face up to 20 years in prison, according to state sentencing guidelines.
Tubbs was initially charged with multiple counts of distribution of heroin, possession of heroin and other drug counts. He remained held without bail at the Ocean County Jail as of early Monday, records show. It’s unclear if he’s hired an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
Fentanyl, which is up to 100 times stronger than morphine, is often added to heroin to increase its potency or is disguised as a highly potent form of the highly addictive opioid, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Nearly 2 million fentanyl-laced pills were seized during a two-month nationwide investigation leading to 810 arrests, DEA officials announced earlier this month.
“These fake pills are more lethal than ever,” DEA officials said in a statement. “DEA laboratory testing reveals that today, four out of 10 fentanyl-laced fake pills contain a potentially lethal dose.”