The following information is on file with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
The following information is on file with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office:
Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Evesham Township Police Chief Christopher Chew announced that an alleged Lawnside drug dealer has been charged with homicide for allegedly causing the death of a Marlton customer to whom he allegedly sold heroin in September.
According to officials, Jimmy Flakes Jr., 40, of Ashland Avenue in Lawnside, was taken into custody this week at his residence and charged with strict liability for a drug-induced death in the first degree. He was lodged in the Burlington County Jail pending a detention hearing in Superior Court.
The case will now be prepared for presentation to a Burlington County Grand Jury for possible indictment.
According to officials, the investigation revealed that a 45-year-old male resident of Evesham Township was discovered dead in his home on Sept. 28 after using heroin that had been allegedly purchased from Flakes.
Officials say the investigation further revealed that Flakes allegedly made a profit of $10 on the sale of the heroin to the victim.
“This is another example of the determined effort by law enforcement in Burlington County, and our partners from other counties, to investigate and prosecute those who are responsible for taking lives with the poison that they peddle,” Coffina said. “People dealing lethal drugs should realize that when their product kills their customers, they will be staring at a 20-year prison term for a first-degree, strict-liability homicide. I commend Evesham Police for aggressively investigating this case and all overdoses — fatal and nonfatal — so we can hold accountable those individuals preying on the vulnerability of people struggling with addiction, and vow to use all tools at our disposal to fight the ongoing drug abuse epidemic.”
The case was investigated by the Evesham Township Police Department, with assistance from the Lawnside Police Department in Camden County. The lead investigator was Evesham Township Police Detective Christopher DeFrancesco. The case will be prosecuted by Burlington County Assistant Prosecutor Jeremy Lackey.
