Jefferson Man Charged with Distributing Heroin, May Be Linked to Fatal Overose

JEFFERSON, NJ — A married Jefferson man was charged Sunday with distributing heroin in Wharton, and is under investigation for supposedly supplying heroin to an individual who overdosed and died, Daily Record reports.

Raymond T. Jones, 41, was charged with other allegations: distributing less than a half ounce of heroin and conspiring with another person to do so Friday in Wharton, and conspiracy to distribute less than a half ounce of heroin on Sunday in Wharton.

Jones was lodged in the Morris County jail on $125,000 bail.

According to Daily Record, the Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Sandler requested that the bail be maintained at this amount because the office is looking into links between Jones and an individual who bought heroin from Jones and died in the past week.

Under New Jersey law, a drug distributor can be charged with "strict liability" if they're directly connected to selling the drugs the person ingested in a drug-induced death.

The deceased person wasn't identified in court.

Jones has been convicted for conspiracy to commit theft and shoplifting, possession of drugs, unlawful possession of a BB gun, assault by strangulation in North Carolina, and eluding police. He's is on probation for possession of drugs and of a BB Gun, according to Daily Record.

Defense lawyer Jada Mayson-Osabu argued that Jones supports his wife by working as a landscaper for a Parsippany company and that he's gotten "back on track" with his probation office, the article states.

The bail was left at $125,000, but the judge modified it to allow for a 10 percent posting option.

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