Monmouth Jail Inmate Admits Giving Prisoner Drugs In Fatal Overdose

FREEHOLD – An inmate at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution has admitted to providing a fellow inmate with the drugs that caused a deadly overdose, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Tuesday.

Appearing before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Chad N. Cagan last Friday, Alvino Hinton, 48, of Long Branch pleaded guilty to a single count of strict liability for a drug-induced death, the prosecutor said. The drugs were provided on April 17, 2022.

Sentencing in the case has been tentatively scheduled for Friday, Aug. 11, at which time Hinton is expected to face a term of 10 years in state prison, with at least 85 percent of the term to be served prior to the possibility of parole under the provisions of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA), the prosecutor's office said.

Authorities recounted the events in the matter:

At approximately 9:05 a.m. on Sunday, April 17, 2022, corrections officers found 31-year-old David Egner of Toms River non-responsive on the floor of his cell, the prosecutor's office said. Egner was immediately given first aid and was taken to a local hospital for treatment, authorities said.

Egner was diagnosed as suffering from heroin/fentanyl poisoning, and died at the hospital several days later.

A cooperative investigation was led by the Prosecutor's Office Detective Brian Hammarstrom with members of the office's Major Crimes Bureau and Professional Responsibility and Bias Crime Unit, along with the jail's Special Investigations Division.

The investigation revealed that earlier on the morning Egner was found unresponsive, Egner had entered Hinton’s cell to deliver a tray of food. Hinton admitted in his plea hearing that at that time he provided Egner with a quantity of heroin laced with fentanyl.

Hinton was formally charged in August 2022.

This case is being prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Lisa Commentucci. Hinton is being represented by Paul E. Zager, Freehold.