N.J. Man, 2 Others Supplied Heroin That Killed Another: AG

A New Jersey man and two others were busted after they supplied heroin that killed a New York man, according to state officials.

The New Jersey man, a Paterson drug dealer, and two drug dealers from New York have been arrested on charges of strict liability for a drug-induced April death in Warwick, N.Y., Acting New Jersey Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced in a news release.

The following three people were arrested in New Jersey on a first-degree charge that carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison, according to the release:

1. Shameik Byrd, 26, of Paterson, N.J., aka “Homeboy,”
2. Anthony Potts, 27, of Warwick, N.Y., and
3. Noel Ferguson, 20, of Warwick, N.Y., who is Potts’ girlfriend.

Byrd was arrested on June 2. Potts and Ferguson were arrested early last evening at the home where both of them live, according to the release.

The three defendants were charged in connection with the death of Kean Cabral, 25, of Warwick, N.Y. Cabral was found dead inside his home on the morning of April 3 as a result of a heroin overdose, according to the release.

“We’ll continue to work collaboratively with our law enforcement partners in New York and elsewhere to enforce New Jersey’s strict liability law to hold drug dealers accountable for the effects of the deadly narcotics they sell,” said Porrino. “Drug dealers who choose to profit by fueling the epidemic of opiate addiction will pay the price when that addiction turns deadly, as it does so often.”

Warwick police officers initiated the investigation on April 3 when they responded to Cabral’s home at approximately 8 a.m. on an emergency call after he was found unresponsive. Cabral was found slumped over the end of a bed in his bedroom, according to the release.

Officers found a syringe at the scene, along with eight glassine envelopes of suspected heroin stamped “Trap Queen” in red ink, and nine empty glassine envelopes with the same stamp. Cabral was pronounced dead at the scene. The Orange County, N.Y. Medical Examiner determined that Cabral died of a heroin overdose, according to the release.

Through their initial investigation, the Warwick Police developed information that Potts and Ferguson allegedly sold Cabral the heroin that caused his death, and they had been traveling to Paterson to purchase heroin.

The Warwick Police and the New York Attorney General’s Office – who had worked with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office on the prior multi-state strict liability case – enlisted those New Jersey partners again to assist in the investigation.

Following an alert from the Warwick Police, detectives from the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office set up surveillance in Paterson on April 6 and allegedly observed Potts and Ferguson obtaining heroin in a hand-to-hand drug transaction on East 34th Street, according to the release.

The detectives stopped the couple’s vehicle, and Potts and Ferguson were arrested after Ferguson voluntarily turned over approximately 50 glassine envelopes of suspected heroin stamped “Trap Queen” in red ink. Further investigation revealed that Potts and Ferguson allegedly sold multiple glassine envelopes of heroin stamped “Trap Queen” to Cabral on both April 1 and April 2, immediately prior to his death, and that they allegedly had obtained the heroin in Paterson from Byrd, according to the release.

In addition to the first-degree charge of strict liability for drug-induced death, Byrd, Potts and Ferguson face third-degree charges of distribution of heroin and conspiracy to distribute heroin. The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Potts and Ferguson are being held in jail in Orange County, N.Y., pending extradition to New Jersey. Byrd is being held in the Passaic County Jail with bail set at $150,000.

Photo: Noel Ferguson, Anthony Potts, Shaneik Byrd