PATERSON, NJ – A 40-year-old Paterson man has been charged with strict liability for drug-induced death after a fatal fentanyl overdose earlier this year, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced Monday.
Gaston Navarro was formally charged on August 20 while already in custody at the Bergen County Jail on an unrelated matter. The charges stem from a joint investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Garfield Police Department into the April 24 death of a 41-year-old man in Garfield.
Officers responded to a medical emergency at a private residence at approximately 6:43 p.m. and found the victim unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel. Detectives noted signs of a possible drug overdose and launched an investigation into the incident.
Over the following months, investigators from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Narcotic Task Force and Garfield Police determined that the controlled dangerous substance ingested by the victim contained a lethal dose of fentanyl. Navarro was later identified as the individual who supplied the fatal narcotics.
Navarro has been charged with first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-9A) and third-degree distribution of fentanyl (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5b(13)). He remains in custody pending a detention hearing in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack.
Prosecutor Musella emphasized that the charges are accusations and that Navarro is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.