Egg Harbor Township man faces prison term for fatal overdoses of teens 14, 17 years old
A South Jersey man has received a 15-year prison term for selling drugs that caused fatal overdoses for two teenagers.
Elias Santiago, 27, of Egg Harbor Township provided pills that contained fentanyl and methamphetamine to a 17-year-old buyer in August 2022, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office said.
But the pills, purchased in Sea Isle City, were disguised to look like the prescription painkiller Percocet, the agency said.
Contraband charge: Lawyer accused of prison smuggling scheme.
The buyer and a 14-year-old boy fatally overdosed the next day at the 17-year-old's home in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Autopsies found that the teens had died of fentanyl ingestion.
'This case highlights the tragic consequences when callous drug dealers sell their dangerous products to unsuspecting users, who don't even know what they're really getting," Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement Thursday.
"It only takes a small amount of the wrong illegal drug to result in a tragedy like this."
Additional pills found in a backpack near the overdose victims were found to contain fentanyl and methamphetamine, the statement said. Detectives used the drug buyer's cellphone to track the purchase to Santiago.
Police also alleged that Santiago operated a group on an encrypted messaging platform that displayed pictures, videos and prices of illegal drugs.
A search of Santiago's home found counterfeit pills and packaging material such as the items found in the 17-year-old's backpack.
Santiago admitted guilt in December 2024 to two counts of strict liability drug-induced death. The plea included an admission that the pills sold by Santiago had caused the teens' deaths.
Superior Court Judge Jeffrey J. Waldman on March 10 imposed a 15-year term for each death, with the sentences to run simultaneously. Santiago is to serve almost 13 years before he's eligible for parole.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: AG: Elias Santiago sold fentanyl and meth in pills resembling Percocet
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