EASTAMPTON, NJ – Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Eastampton Township Police Department Chief Joseph Iacovitti announced that a 35-year-old Trenton drug dealer has been charged with causing the death of an Eastampton man who fatally overdosed on fentanyl last year at his residence.
Robert Rentas, of the 100 block of Calhoun Street in Trenton, was charged with Strict Liability for Drug-Induced Death (First Degree) and Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Third Degree).
He was lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly after being arrested on December 1. A detention hearing will be held tomorrow in Superior Court. The case will be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment.
The investigation began on November 12, 2020, after Emergency Medical Services personnel and officers from the Eastampton Township Police Department were dispatched to a residence for a report of a 34-year-old unresponsive male. Narcan was administered and chest compressions were performed, but it was determined by EMS workers on the scene that he was deceased and beyond resuscitative efforts.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined the death was caused by fentanyl toxicity.
The investigation revealed that the drugs that led to the fatal overdose had been purchased from Rentas.
The case was investigated by the Eastampton Township Police Department and the Prosecutor’s Office Gang, Gun and Narcotics Task Force, with assistance from the BCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit and the New Jersey State Police.
Rentas will be prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Laura Heisman.