Trenton Man Pleads Guilty In Fatal Burlington County Overdose: PO

A Mercer County man has admitted to selling heroin to a Burlington County man who subsequently died of a fatal overdose, authorities announced.

Darius Beckett, 29, of Trenton, pleaded guilty to first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death and third-degree making terroristic threats, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced.

Under the deal, Beckett faces eight years in New Jersey State Prison. Under the state’s No Early Release Act, Beckett will be required to serve 85 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 20.

Mansfield police responded to a home in the Columbus section of the township for a report of an unresponsive man on Aug. 12, 2018, police said. Arriving officers discovered the man in his bedroom with a hypodermic needle near his body.

Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined the cause of death to be fentanyl toxicity. An ensuing investigation determined the man bought the heroin that killed him from Beckett, police said.

In February, Beckett was arrested at his home 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.

He has been in the Burlington County Jail since his arrest.