New Brunswick Man Charged With Woman's Drug Overdose Death

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — A New Brunswick man was arrested Sept. 23 and is charged with causing the drug overdose death of a Bedminster woman in January.

Lashawn D. Boyd, 24, was taken into custody without incident at his Harvey Street home in New Brunswick. He is charged with first-degree drug-induced death and he is currently being held at the Somerset County Jail. That is a felony charge that can carry up to twenty years in prison.

At 6:00 a.m. on January 20, Bedminster Township police and EMS were called to a home on Lamington Road. There, a 37-year-old Bedminster woman was believed to be suffering from a heart attack.

She was taken to an area hospital, where she died at 5:37 p.m. that same day.

It was determined that she died from a suspected drug overdose, and a quantity of suspected heroin was later recovered from her belongings, said the Somerset County prosecutor.

An autopsy performed by the Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined that she died from combined adverse effects of cocaine, fentanyl and sertraline.

Police say that before her death, the woman made arrangements to meet with Boyd for a suspected drug transaction on January 19, the day before she died.

"Further investigation revealed that the female decedent and Lashawn Boyd were in the same location on January 19, 2020 for a brief period of time," said Somerset County Prosecutor Michael Robertson.