A Neptune man has been charged with selling a lethal combination of drugs that led to the May overdose death of a Long Branch woman, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said on Friday.

Jomell Brathwaite, 36,  was charged on Friday with first-degree strict liability for drug-induced deaths and third-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance in connection with the sale of a heroin and fentanyl concoction that led to the overdose death of a 49-year old female from Long Branch.

Brathwaite was already being lodged in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution on other charges not pertaining to this incident. His initial appearance was scheduled for Friday afternoon in Superior Court in Freehold.

Brathwaite’s victim was found dead by her boyfriend on the morning of May 15.

An investigation was launched into the death of the victim by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Long Branch Police Department. The investigation determined that Brathwaite had allegedly sold the lethal substance during the evening of May 14, 2018, at a local business located in Ocean Township.

If convicted of first-degree strict liability for drug-induced deaths, Brathwaite faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in a New Jersey state prison without parole, subject to the provisions of the No Early Release Act (NERA), requiring him to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release.

The crime of third-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance crime carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office