Manchester drug dealer sentenced in fentanyl death of 35-year-old man
TOMS RIVER - A Manchester resident was sentenced Friday to seven years years in state prison for manslaughter after he previously pleaded guilty to supplying a 35-year-old man with the fentanyl that killed him, announced Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Dandre Tubbs, 34, will be required to serve at least 85% of his sentence before he is eligible for parole under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, according to the statement from the Prosecutor’s Office.
State Superior Court Judge Lisa A. Puglisi also sentenced Tubbs to concurrent sentences for fentanyl distribution and fentanyl possession with intent to distribute — seven years and four years, respectively. Tubbs pleaded guilty to all of the charges on June 13, according to the statement.
One year ago this month, Manchester Police Department officers were dispatched to a home in the township for a report of an unresponsive male. When the officers arrived, they discovered that the victim was already dead from an apparent drug overdose, the statement said.
Investigators from the Major Crime Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office and Manchester Police detectives investigated and determined that the victim — who has not been identified — had acquired fentanyl from Tubbs on Aug. 15. The victim died the next day.
A toxicology report confirmed the presence of fentanyl in the victim’s system. The Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that fentanyl was the cause of death, all according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Tubbs was arrested on Aug. 19 by Manchester Police during a motor vehicle stop. He was taken to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River where he has remained since that date.
Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Kristin Pressman and Assistant Prosecutor Victoria Veni handled the subsequent criminal case on behalf of the state of New Jersey.
The Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigations (CSI) Unit also participated in the investigation.
Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Manchester NJ drug dealer sentenced in fentanyl death
