Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Pemberton Township Police Chief David King announced that a Trenton drug dealer has been charged with causing the death of a Browns Mills man who fatally overdosed on fentanyl he sold to him last year.
Marvin Montoya, 34, of the first block of Power Street in Trenton, was charged with Strict Liability for Drug-Induced Death (First Degree), Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Third Degree), and Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Third Degree).
Montoya was taken into custody on Monday in Trenton and lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly. He will face a detention hearing in Superior Court in the near future. The case will then be prepared for presentation to a Burlington County Grand Jury for possible indictment.
The investigation began after the decedent, 23-year-old Michael Williams, was discovered by a relative the morning of August 11, 2020, after he failed to get up for work. The investigation revealed that Williams had previously traveled to Trenton and purchased the drugs from Montoya in the city’s North Ward.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined that Williams died of fentanyl toxicity.
Montoya will be prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Jeremy Lackey. The investigation was conducted by the Pemberton Township Police Department, with assistance from the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit. The lead investigator is Pemberton Township Lt. Jay Watters.
Since 2017, there have been 26 defendants charged in Burlington County with Strict Liability for Drug-Induced Death. Ten have been convicted or pled guilty, and another four have been indicted. The remaining cases are pending presentation to a grand jury.
All persons are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.