Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Mansfield Township Police Chief Ronald Mulhall announced that a Trenton drug dealer was charged Wednesday with causing the death of a customer by supplying the heroin that led to the Mansfield resident’s fatal overdose last summer.
Darius Beckett, 29, of the 100 block of Academy 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), Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance with Intent to Distribute (Third Degree), and Making Terroristic Threats (Third Degree).
Beckett faces a detention hearing next week in Superior Court in Mount Holly. The case will then be prepared for presentation to a Burlington County Grand Jury for possible indictment.
Beckett was taken into custody Wednesday morning at his residence by members of the Burlington County Sheriff’s Department Warrant Unit, the New Jersey State Police Fugitive Unit, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Mansfield Township Police Department and the Edgewater Park Township Police Department.
On August 12, 2018, officers from the Mansfield Township Police Department were dispatched to White Pine Road in the Columbus section of the township for a report of an unresponsive adult male. Upon arrival, officers discovered the victim in his bedroom with a hypodermic needle near his body. The investigation revealed that the heroin used by the victim was purchased from Beckett.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Jeremy Lackey. The investigation was conducted by the Mansfield Township Police Department, the BCPO Gang, Gun and Narcotics Task Force, and the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit.
All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.