South Jersey Man Charged In Drug-Induced Death: Prosecutor

An alleged drug dealer has been charged in connection with the death of a person he sold fentanyl-laced heroin to in 2017, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Pemberton Township Police Chief David H. Jantas announced.

Bryant Taylor, 39, of Pemberton, has been charged with one count of first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death, one count of third-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance and one count of third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance.

Pemberton police were called to the Wawa on Arney’s Mount Road for a report of an unresponsive male on the men’s bathroom floor on June 18, 2017.

The 26-year-old man never regained consciousness. He died in the hospital on June 20. Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood concluded the cause of death was heroin and fentanyl toxicity.

An investigation determined that Taylor sold the man the drugs that ultimately killed him, authorities said.

Taylor was arrested on Jan. 14, 2019, authorities said. He was lodged in the Burlington County Jail pending a detention hearing in Superior Court. The case will now be prepared for presentation to a Burlington County Grand Jury for possible indictment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Jeremy Lackey. The investigation was conducted by the Pemberton Township Police Department, with assistance from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office’s High Tech Crimes Unit. The lead investigator is Pemberton Township Police Detective Danielle Hann.

The attached image of Bryant Taylor was provided by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.