It's part of the epidemic that's wreaked havoc on the Jersey Shore community for years now, with heroin being of particular concern.

Law enforcement continues cracking down on this heinous activity and putting together programs for those sho need help.

A Long Branch man is heading to prison for six-years though as he has plead guilty to the first degree crime of strict liability for drug induced death in February of 2020 in Tinton Falls, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni.

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Lateef Reevey, 31, of Long Branch, was sentenced by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Lourdes Lucas to prison subject to the No Early Release Act and Pursuant to N.E.R.A., he will be required to serve 85% of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

Reevey also received a five year term in New Jersey State Prison for an unrelated charge of conspiracy to possess a controlled dangerous substance, which will run concurrent to the strict liability charge.

His guilty plea came on December 14, 2020 in connection with the fatal overdose death of 25 year-old Lucy Yardley of Flanders, New Jersey, who died on February 21, 2020.

Prosecutor Gramiccioni said that "under New Jersey law, a person who distributes a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) is strictly liable for a death which results from the injection, inhalation or ingestion of that substance."

The death Reevey caused occurred at a motel room in Tinton Falls where police found Yardley lying on the bathroom floor.

She was unconscious and not breathing.

Tinton Falls Police Officers, the Tinton Falls First Aid Squad, and the MONOC Paramedics tried to revive Yardley before she passed away.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and Tinton Falls Police ran an investigation into Yardley's death and the origins of the heroin she ingested.

That led them to Reevey who they said communicated with Yardley the day prior to her death.

On February 22, 2020, police found Reevey in the parking lot of the same local motel.

Police found Reevey in possession of a quantity of heroin and cocaine, packaged for sale, as well as two cell phones.

Reevey broke one of the phones when police approached him and it was the one he had used to communicate with Yardley two days earlier.

He was then arrested and charged with two counts of third degree possession of CDS, two counts of third degree possession of CDS with intent to distribute, one count of third degree conspiracy to distribute, one count of fourth degree tampering with physical evidence and the disorderly persons offense of possession of drug paraphernalia.

This case was handled by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher J. Decker, Director of the Office’s Major Crimes Bureau.

Reevey was represented by Michael Rosas, Esquire of Iselin, New Jersey.

You can follow Vin Ebenau on Twitter and Instagram and email news tips to vin.ebenau@townsquaremedia.com.

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