PRESS RELEASE-ARREST IN FIRST DEGREE STRICT LIABILITY DRUG INDUCED DEATH

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that Shemar Jackson, 19, of Galloway Township, has been arrested and charged with Strict Liability Drug Induced Death in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-9a.

On December 5, 2019, Toms River Township Police responded to a Toms River residence for a report of a 24 year-old unresponsive male. Upon arrival, Toms River Township Police discovered that the male was already deceased from an apparent drug overdose.

A subsequent investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, and Toms River Township Police Department revealed that Jackson was the supplier of Heroin and Fentanyl that were sold to the victim on December 4, 2019. Further investigation and laboratory analysis confirmed that the Heroin and Fentanyl found in the victim’s system – the same Heroin and Fentanyl supplied by Jackson and sold to the victim — were the cause of the young man’s death. Jackson was arrested at his residence in Galloway Township today by officers of the Galloway Township Police Department and Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.

Prosecutor Billhimer would like to acknowledge the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, Toms River Township Police Department, Barnegat Township Police Department Crime Reduction Unit, Galloway Township Police Department, Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit for their collaborative work in this investigation leading to Jackson’s arrest. “We will continue to prosecute strict liability deaths to send a clear message to these drug dealers that you will be held responsible. Anyone that chooses to pedal potentially deadly narcotics in Ocean County will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated.

The press and public are reminded that all defendants are innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.