Bergen man gets 10-year sentence for providing drugs that led to Pequannock overdose death

Kyle Morel, NorthJersey.com
·2 min read
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A Bergen County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for distributing fentanyl and other drugs to a Morris County woman who died of an overdose in 2021, part of a law enforcement push to prosecute dealers who provide drugs that lead to opioid fatalities.

David Pezak, 35, of Saddle Brook was sentenced in Morristown on Friday, a month after pleading guilty to two counts, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. Pezak plead guilty to first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death and third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance.

His 10-year term includes a five-year concurrent sentence for the possession charge with two years of parole ineligibility, Prosecutor Robert Carroll said.

Counterfeit opioid pills are often laced with deadly amounts of fentanyl, officials say.
Counterfeit opioid pills are often laced with deadly amounts of fentanyl, officials say.

According to authorities, police responded on Nov. 15, 2021, to a 911 report of an unresponsive woman at a home in Pequannock. Officers pronounced the woman dead at the scene, and the medical examiner ruled the cause of death to be ingestion of fentanyl, amphetamine, carisoprodol and clonazepam.

An investigation determined that Pezak, along with another unnamed individual, provided the mixture of drugs to the woman the day she died, the Prosecutor's Office said. The statement identified the woman only as "A.C."

Pezak's is the second Morris County case involving a strict liability drug charge in the last three weeks. The statute allows authorities to prosecute "any person who manufactures, distributes or dispenses any number of controlled dangerous substances" that result in another user's death, the release said.

Opioid epidemic: New Jersey's goal is to saturate the state with naloxone to save lives

Anthony Dello-Russo, 26, of Hanover was charged on Dec. 26 with strict liability in connection with the death of a 28-year-old township man last February. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

In a statement after Pezak's sentencing, Carroll expressed his commitment, along with the Morris County sheriff and local police chiefs, to pursuing first-degree convictions for dealers whose sales cause drug-related deaths.

"We are losing too many lives to these deadly poisons," he said. "Let this be a warning to drug dealers — you are taking an enormous risk with every dose of heroin/fentanyl you distribute."

Kyle Morel is a breaking-news reporter for the USA Today Network-New Jersey.

Email: kmorel@njherald.com; Twitter: @KMorelNJH

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County man sentenced for Pequannock NJ overdose death