Berkeley Man Charged In 2 Heroin Overdose Deaths: Prosecutor

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, NJ — A Berkeley Township man has been charged with providing the fentanyl-laced heroin that led to the overdose deaths of two other Berkeley residents earlier this year, authorities said Wednesday.

Cody Lessing, 25, of Bayville, was charged Tuesday with two counts of strict liability for a drug-induced death, two counts of manslaughter, two counts of possession with the intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl, possession of heroin and fentanyl and distribution of heroin and fentanyl, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato and Berkeley Township Police Chief Karin DiMichele said in a joint news release.

Lessing was charged in connection with the deaths of James Tice Jr. and Keith Tandberg, both of Bayville, who both died Feb. 25, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

Is Your Dog The Best? Enter Patch's Top Dog In NJ Contest

This is the first time someone has been charged in Ocean County in connection with more than one death under the strict liability law, which was enacted in 1987 and strengthened in 2013. More than 30 strict liability charges have been filed since Coronato became prosecutor in March 2013.

"The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office will continue to lead the way in developing strict liability drug-induced death cases," Coronato said. "It’s critical during this opiate crisis we take strong punitive measures against dealers bringing death to those fighting addiction."

Lessing is being held at the Ocean County Jail, where he has been since he was arrested Feb. 25 on narcotics charges related to the deaths of Tice and Tandberg, Della Fave said.

Berkeley Township police responded to two separate 911 calls within seven hours of each other on Feb. 25, he said. At the first call, Tandberg, 45, was found unresponsive and pronounced dead just after midnight; Tice, 28, was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the second call, Della Fave said.

Both showed signs of overdose, he said, so police at both scenes called the Major Crimes Unit of the prosecutor's office and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Unit to investigate.

The ensuing intensive investigation led authorities to Lessing and linked him to both deaths, Della Fave said; autopsies by the Ocean County medical examiner confirmed that Tandberg and Tice’s deaths were drug-induced due to lethal doses of heroin combined with fentanyl, he said.

Ocean County Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Patrick J. Sheehan is the case prosecutor.

Lessing has had multiple arrests on heroin possession and distribution charges, including one last November where Manchester police seized nearly 500 folds of heroin. He also has prior arrests on burglary charges and in connection with a 2011 incident where he and another man were accused of shooting at neighborhood kids with pellet guns.

Cody Lessing photo via Ocean County Corrections Department