Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a Trenton drug dealer has been indicted for causing the death of a Pemberton Township man who fatally overdosed on fentanyl he sold to him last summer.
A grand jury indicted Marvin Montoya, 34, on charges of Strict Liability for Drug-Induced Death (First Degree), Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Third Degree), and Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance with Intent to Distribute (Third Degree).
The indictment was returned August 3 and signed by Prosecutor Coffina. An arraignment will be held soon in Superior Court. Montoya has been lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly since being arrested in March.
The investigation began after the decedent, 23-year-old Michael Williams, was discovered by a relative in their Browns Mills home the morning of August 11, 2020, after he failed to get up for work. The investigation revealed that Williams had previously traveled to Trenton and purchased the drugs from Montoya in the city’s North Ward.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined that Williams died of fentanyl toxicity.
The case was presented to the grand jury by Assistant Prosecutor Michael Angermeier, supervisor of the BCPO Gang, Gun and Narcotics Task Force. The investigation was conducted by the Pemberton Township Police Department, with assistance from the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit. The lead investigator is Pemberton Township Lt. Jay Watters.