Browns Mills man pleads guilty to manslaughter in overdose death

Yahoo

28-02-2025

TOMS RIVER - A Browns Mills man pleaded guilty to manslaughter Thursday, in connection to an overdose death in 2019, authorities said.
William Anderson, 60, pleaded guilty in the death of a 29-year-old Toms River man, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
On February 28, 2019, Toms River Township Police responded to the Pelican Inn for a report of an unresponsive man, Billhimer said. There, they found a 29-year-old male apparently suffering from a drug overdose. Officers attempted life-saving measures and EMS arrived and were able to re-establish a pulse.
The victim was then taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where he ultimately died on March 2, 2019, according to the prosecutor.
Further investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Narcotics Strike Force and Toms River Township Police Department Detective Bureau determined that Anderson had supplied heroin and cocaine to a third party on February 27, 2019, which was ultimately supplied to the victim, Billhimer said. Toxicology analysis confirmed the presence of cocaine and fentanyl in the victim's system.
Laboratory analysis determined that the controlled dangerous substances supplied to the victim and distributed by Anderson was, in fact, cocaine and fentanyl - matching the cocaine and fentanyl found in the victim's system, Billhimer said. Based upon the toxicology analysis, the Ocean County Medical Examiner's Office said that the cocaine and fentanyl found in the victim's system was the cause of his death. As a consequence, Anderson was charged with strict liability drug induced death on August 20, 2021.
On August 24, 2021, Anderson was arrested without incident by detectives from the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office and Pemberton Township Police Department, Billhimer said. He was transported to the Ocean County Jail and later released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.
At the time of his sentencing on May 2, the State will be seeking a term of seven years New Jersey State Prison, according to the prosecutor.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Man pleads guilty in drug-related manslaughter of Toms River man