A 32-year-old Ocean Township man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with a fatal drug overdose that occurred in Berkeley Township in late 2023, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced Monday.
James Liu admitted to supplying the fentanyl-laced heroin that caused the death of a 33-year-old man on December 26. Prosecutors will seek a seven-year prison sentence at Liu’s sentencing, scheduled for December 5. The sentence would be subject to the No Early Release Act, requiring Liu to serve at least 85 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole.
Police responded to a Berkeley Township home on December 26, 2023, where they found the victim unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. Toxicology results later confirmed fentanyl as the cause of death.
Liu was initially charged two days later—on December 28—after investigators linked him to the sale of the fatal drugs. He was arrested during a vehicle stop near his Ocean Township home and charged with multiple drug offenses, including possession and intent to distribute heroin/fentanyl and possession of crack cocaine.
Following the confirmation of fentanyl in the victim’s system, Liu was charged on February 15 with strict liability for a drug-induced death. He turned himself in five days later and was released under the terms of New Jersey’s bail reform law.
Liu’s guilty plea to manslaughter replaces the earlier strict liability charge. He remains free pending sentencing.
Key Points
- James Liu pleaded guilty to manslaughter for supplying fentanyl in a 2023 overdose death
- Prosecutors will seek a 7-year sentence under the No Early Release Act
- Liu was initially arrested on drug charges and later charged with drug-induced death
