New Jersey Man Charged After 12-Year-Old Nephew Dies From Fentanyl Overdose

A New Jersey man is facing first-degree aggravated manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child charges for the death of his 12-year-old nephew, NBC News reports.

On Thursday, prosecutors brought 28 charges against Troy Nokes, 35, who is charged for the overdose death of the young child. He instructed his nephew to clean up drug items containing fentanyl, said the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and Gloucester Township Police in a press release, according to NBC News.

In addition to manslaughter, Nokes faces first-degree strict liability drug-induced death, first degree maintaining a controlled dangerous substance production facility, employing a juvenile in a drug distribution scheme, witness tampering, tampering with evidence, hindering apprehension and aggravated assault, among other charges, reads the release, according to NBC News.

Police said he picked up the drugs without gloves the weekend before he died. Eight days later, witnesses found the 12-year old unresponsive on his school bus in Gloucester Township, according to police authorities, reports NBC News.

“It angers me quite frankly, this 12-year-old who is just going to school is exposed to this–these drugs that a 12-year-old should not be exposed to,” said Gloucester Township Police Chief David Hawkins to NBC News.

An autopsy report concluded the boy died due to a fentanyl overdose.

The boy’s uncle is accused of running a “controlled dangerous substance production facility” in his Blackwood home where he lived with his nephew, The New York Post reports.

Consuming just 0.002 grams of the deadly opioid can have fatal consequences, based on the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, The New York Posts reports.

Nokes’ girlfriend named Joanna Johnson also faces charges for tampering with evidence and protecting Nokes from arrest, said prosecutors, NBC Philadelphia reports.

Chief Harkins told the news station that the child’s caretaker and grandmother are “devastated.”

“And she is losing a family member now who’s going into the criminal justice system to be prosecuted. But more importantly, she’s lost her 12-year-old grandson,” Harkins said to NBC News.