Men Face Drug Charges After Fatal Overdose In Brick, Prosecutor Says

BRICK, NJ — Two Brick Township men are facing drug charges in connection with a 27-year-old woman's fatal overdose on Monday, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Roderick J. Seward, 30, and Santino Giunta, 29, are facing cocaine charges in the incident that happened at a home in Brick, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Brick police received a 911 call on Monday about an unconscious woman and found that she was already dead, from an apparent drug overdose, when they arrived, the prosecutor's office said.

Investigators learned Seward and Giunta had supplied cocaine to the victim, authorities said. They did not release her name.

Detectives began watching Seward and Brick Township police saw him and pulled him over, and arrested him, the prosecutor's office said.

Shortly afterward they pulled over a vehicle Giunta was driving and arrested him as well, authorities said.

A search at Seward’s home after the arrests resulted in detectives seizing an unspecified amount of cocaine and "other white-powdery substances," a digital scale, and packaging materials related to the distribution of illegal narcotics, the prosecutor's office said.

Seward was charged with possession of cocaine in an amount less than one-half ounce with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia, the prosecutor's office said. He is being held at the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Giunta was charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was released on a summons, the prosecutor's office said.

Billhimer said the investigation is continuing and there could be additional charges.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, Brick Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Brick Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, combined on the investigation.