Drug Dealer Convicted Of Homicide In Burlington County
MOUNT HOLLY, NJ (CBS) -- A jury in Burlington County has handed down a guilty verdict against a Camden drug dealer charged with causing the overdose death of a customer in his home almost a year ago.
Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina has been using a wrinkle in New Jersey law to go after drug dealers who wind up killing people. This time, a jury agreed after three days of deliberations.
"The defendant in the case had sold the victim, unfortunately, a fatal dose of heroin and held him accountable by convicting him of a drug induced death homicide." Coffina told KYW Newsradio.
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Jose LaPorte, 25, was also found guilty on four lesser drug related counts in the death of 35-year-old Sung Han last April in Burlington Township.
"We had over 130 overdose deaths in our county in 2017," Coffina added. "So what these dealers are dealing is basically poison and it's killing people and we have to take them a more aggressive approach to hold them accountable."
Sentencing for LaPorte is scheduled for late March.
