2 face charges in Boyertown man's overdose death

Ron Devlin, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·2 min read

Feb. 24—Berks County authorities filed new charges Tuesday in the death of a Boyertown man who overdosed on heroin in December, the Berks County Detectives Office announced.

Jesus Cruz, 20, of Boyertown, was charged with trafficking heroin/fentanyl that resulted in death.

Cruz, who is in Berks County Prison, had been charged in December with possession and sale of heroin, carrying a firearm without a license and criminal use of a communications device in relation to the incident.

After detention in the Berks County Sheriff's Department central processing center, Cruz was arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Michael G. Hartman. The amount of his bail was not available.

Keyaira Nunez-Trego, 28, described in court documents as Cruz's girlfriend, was charged with possession of illegal drugs with intent to deliver and criminal conspiracy. She is expected to turn herself in to authorities Wednesday.

The latest charges followed a final autopsy report and death certificate issued on Jan. 21 that attributed the victim's death to acute fentanyl toxicity.

According to police:

Eastern Berks Regional Police were dispatched to a report of an unresponsive male in the 1200 block Montgomery Avenue, Boyertown, around 2:40 p.m. Dec. 5. While in the home of the victim, who was deceased, officers found 12 packets of heroin/fentanyl and the victim's cellphone.

An initial investigation by Eastern Berks officers and Berks County detectives identified Cruz, who lived in the 200 block of Reading Avenue, as a suspect.

On Dec. 6, officers observed Cruz and Nunez-Trego leave their residence in a silver vehicle. At a subsequent traffic stop, officers found a black Keltec 9mm handgun and five packets of suspected heroin/fentanyl in the vehicle.

Officers obtained a search warrant from Hartman and found 130 rounds of 22mm and 9mm ammunition, a second Keltec handgun, drug paraphernalia and an undetermined amount of money in Cruz's apartment.

Arraigned on a host of drug related charges, Cruz was incarcerated at Berks County Prison in lieu of bail.