Prosecutors: Uncle charged in overdose death of New Jersey boy found unresponsive on school bus
Prosecutors: Uncle charged in overdose death of New Jersey boy found unresponsive on school bus
According to prosecutors, 36-year-old Troy Nokes manufactured fentanyl at a home in Blackwood where he lived with his 12-year-old nephew. An investigation found that Nokes made the deadly drug the weekend before the child was found unresponsive and ordered him to clean paraphernalia that contained fentanyl.
CAMDEN, N.J. - A Camden County man is facing charges after prosecutors said his nephew suffered lethal exposure to fentanyl that caused the child to have a medical emergency aboard a school bus and die days later.
According to prosecutors, 36-year-old Troy Nokes manufactured fentanyl at a home in Blackwood where he lived with his 12-year-old nephew. An investigation found that Nokes made the deadly drug the weekend before the child was found unresponsive and ordered him to clean paraphernalia that contained fentanyl
Authorities responded to Gloucester Township Elementary School Jan. 24 for reports of an unresponsive 12-year-old on a school bus, police said. The school nurse performed life-saving measures until emergency responders arrived and took the child to Jefferson Hospital in Washington Township.
The child was later brought to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where he died on Mar. 1, police said. An autopsy done by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office concluded that the fifth-grade victim died of drug intoxication, specifically fentanyl.
About two months after the deadly incident, members of the United States Marshals Service Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Noke and Joanna Johnson, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Nokes is facing several charges including first-degree counts of aggravated manslaughter, six counts of third-degree engendering the welfare of a child, six counts of witness tampering. He also faces a host of drug-related offenses.
Johnson, described by the Camden County Prosecutor's Office as a co-defendant, is charged with evidence tampering and hindering apprehension.
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