Two people are facing charges in connection to an investigation into the fentanyl overdose death of a woman at a Hackensack mall.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office says that two people are facing narcotics-related offenses. They were identified as Garfield Jones and Robert McCrae, both of Paterson. They have not been charged in connection to the death of 29-year-old Michelle Edoo.
Officials say they are waiting for the exact cause of Edoo’s death and looking into other evidence to be able to determine if they can hold someone criminally responsible for Edoo’s death.
Authorities say that Edoo and four other women overdosed on fentanyl while in the parking lot of the Shops at Riverside in Hackensack. The five women worked at the Cheesecake Factory. Edoo died on Saturday. The other four women were revived using Narcan.
The prosecutor’s office also addressed the ongoing fentanyl crisis in New Jersey and across the United States. Officials say that more than 125 Bergen County residents died of an overdose last year and more than 175 the year before.
Authorities say that fentanyl is an indiscriminate chemical enemy, and that there has never been a riskier time in society for people who take illicit drugs.
“In 2015, all suspected heroin sent to the lab contained between 4-8% of fentanyl. In 2023, all suspected heroin contains now 98% fentanyl,” says Jason Love, chief of detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. “We actively go after the traffickers, the suppliers and those that sell fentanyl. And as I speak of all the great work that we do, there is a family planning a funeral. We are not doing enough.”
Police officers deployed Narcan more than 370 times last year and offered resources to a recovery specialist to those who survived.
Authorities say that they need the community’s help to spread the message of how dangerous fentanyl is.