OCPO: LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP MAN CHARGED WITH STRICT LIABILITY DRUG INDUCED DEATH APPREHENDED

Press release from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office:

BHuntenburg

Aug 28, 2021

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Captain James Hawkins of the Little Egg Harbor Police Department announced that on August 27, 2021, David Belk, 45, of Little Egg Harbor, a fugitive from justice relative to an incident that occurred in Little Egg Harbor Township on July 3, 2021, was apprehended in Atlantic City by the New Jersey Transit Police. At the time of his apprehension, Belk was found to be in possession of Heroin and was charged accordingly.  Belk was processed at Little Egg Harbor Township Police Headquarters and transported to the Ocean County Jail where he will remain lodged pending a detention hearing. 

Belk was charged on August 26, 2021 with Strict Liability Drug Induced Death in violation of  N.J.S.A. 2C:35-9a, Endangering the Welfare of a Child in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(2), Possession of Heroin with Intent to Distribute in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5b(3), and Possession of Heroin in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10a(1) in connection with the July 3, 2021 incident.

On July 3, 2021, Officers from the Little Egg Harbor Police Department were summoned to a residence on East Susquehanna Drive for a report of an unresponsive sixteen-year-old male lying on the floor.  Responding Officers immediately administered lifesaving techniques; the young man was transported to Hackensack Meridian Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, where he was subsequently pronounced deceased.

An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department Detective Bureau determined that Belk and a co-defendant Stephanie O’Neill, supplied Heroin and Fentanyl to the victim.  Further investigation and toxicology analysis recently received by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the presence of Heroin and Fentanyl in the victim’s system.  Based upon the toxicology analysis, the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office opined that the Heroin and Fentanyl found in the victim’s system was the cause of his death.  

As a consequence, on August 26, 2021, Belk and O’Neill, were charged with Strict Liability Drug Induced Death in violation of  N.J.S.A. 2C:35-9a.  Belk and O’Neill were also charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(2), Possession of Heroin with Intent to Distribute in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5b(3), and Possession of Heroin in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10a(1).  O’Neill was taken into custody on August 26, 2021 and is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.  

Prosecutor Billhimer and Captain Hawkins commend the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department Patrol Division, Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office, New Jersey Transit Police, Atlantic City Police Department and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their collaborative efforts in connection with this investigation and Belk’s apprehension.

The charges referenced above are merely accusations and the press and public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

R.P.C. 3.6(b)(6).

This press release was produced by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. The views expressed here are the author’s own.