Drug dealer convicted of selling deadly dose of fentanyl; he could face life in prison

A 27-year-old man was found dead in his home last February, the victim of a fentanyl overdose.

Nearly a year later, a Warren County jury on Tuesday convicted the dealer who sold the victim the fatal dose of the powerful painkiller.

Matthew Evans, 40, could spend the rest of his life behind bars when he is sentenced, the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office announced in a news release following the verdict in Belvidere.

Evans, of the first block of Woolston Way in Washington Township, lived within a 10-minute drive of the Green Street home in Washington Borough where his buyer was found dead Feb. 2, 2018. Township police and the prosecutor’s office arrested Evans two and a half months later.

Evans was convicted on a charge of first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death, as well as third-degree drug possession and distribution counts. The first-degree charge normally carries a maximum 20-year sentence, but the prosecutor’s office said Evans falls under a New Jersey law allowing the court to impose an expanded sentence up to life imprisonment.

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When Evans was arrested, investigators at the time said the charges “should send a clear message” to dealers.

“If you sell drugs to someone and they die as a result of taking those drugs, you can and will be charged with the death,” they said. “Let’s hope they get the message.”

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveNovakLVL and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.