Jesse Hay was originally charged under the state's strict liability law that would have treated the case as a homicide
Jesse Hay was sentenced to five years in prison for aggravated manslaughter and drug distribution TOMS RIVER -- A South Plainfield man who admitted to supplying fentanyl-laced heroin to a Brick man who later died of an overdose has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Jesse Hay, 26, will have to serve more than four years of his prison term before becoming eligible for parole under the sentence Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels imposed Friday in Toms River, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
Hay initially was charged under the state's strict liability law, which holds those who supply fatal doses of drugs responsible for overdoses.
Man charged with supplying fentanyl-laced heroin in fatal overdose
In this case, he was accused of supplying fentanyl-laced heroin to Anthony Busby, 24, of Brick, who was found dead of an overdose in a Marilyn Drive home in Brick on Dec. 18, 2014.
At the house, investigators found several wax folds stamped "730 virus" in green ink and 10 wax folds stamped "Strike Dead" with a picture of a grim reaper in red and black ink, authorities said at the time.
Hay pleaded guilty to second-degree aggravated manslaughter and third-degree drug distribution.
His drug distribution conviction requires him to serve 30 months of his term without being eligible for parole, Della Fave said.
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