Bergen Man Whose Heroin Killed Ramsey Teen Dies In Prison

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Bergen County man accused of killing a Ramsey man with a drug concoction that included Fentanyl in 2014 was found dead in his cell at a federal transfer center in Oklahoma City late Friday night, authorities said.

Darius Ghagary, 48, was found unresponsive at 11:40 p.m., U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Kim Neely said in a press release. Staff immediately began life-saving measures.

Ghagary was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:51 a.m. by hospital staff, Neely said.

RELATED: Drug Dealer's Heroin Mixture Kills Ramsey Teen, Prosecutor Says

The FBI and the United States Marshals Service were notified of the incident and an investigation has begun, Neely said. Ghagary's next of kin have been notified.

Ghagary arrived at the transfer center Oct. 17. He was a U.S. Marshals inmate being held at the center en route to North Dakota when he died, Neely said.

Ghagary lived in Upper Saddle River when he was charged with manslaughter, hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence related to the death of Daniel Lajterman in 2014.

According to authorities when Ghagary was arrested, Lajterman purchased from Ghagary what he believed to be heroin. However, he was given a "deadly poly-drug substance" that Ghahary mixed together, authorities said.

Fentanyl, which is said to be 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin, is believed to be among the substances Ghagary mixed in, authorities said.

Lajterman, a Bergen Community College student, graduated in 2013 from Ramsey High School where he played football with Ghahary's son, according to NorthJersey.com.

Search warrants were executed at Ghahary's residence and several of his storage facilities in 2014. Large quantities of Fentanyl, Oxycodone, Xanax, Adderall, Hydromorphone, Synthetic THC, steroids, MDMA, marijuana and other drugs were found, authorities said. The drugs were found in powder and pill forms and large quantities of packaging materials and mixing agents were found, they said.

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Photo: Darius Ghagary/Bergen County Prosecutor's Office