Lacey Man Charged In Drug Death Of Man Found In Wawa Bathroom

LACEY TOWNSHIP, NJ - A Lacey man who provided another township man with a lethal dose of heroin and fentanyl has been charged with his death, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato and Lacey Chief Michael C. DiBella said today.

Nicholas Marco Picone, 32, was arrested today and charged with the drug-induced death of Anthony Terrill Jr., 29. Terrill was found dead on the floor of a Wawa bathroom early in the morning of April 8, said Al Della Fave, a spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office.

"It’s critical during this opiate crisis we take strong punitive measures against dealers bringing death to those fighting addiction," Coronato said.

Picone was charged with strict liability drug-induced death on June 20. He has been in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River since April 12, on prior narcotic drug possession and distribution charges stemming from the same investigation, Della Fave said.

Lacey police responded to the Wawa on Route 9 South in Forked River at 2:10 a.m. on April 8 on a report from a store employee of an unconscious man in the bathroom. Terrill was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

Lacey officers at the scene saw signs of a drug overdose immediately and contacted the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Major Crimes Unit and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Unit to respond.

The investigation lead back to Picone and linked him to Terrill's death, Della Fave said.

An autopsy by the Ocean County Medical Examiner confirmed that Terrill’s death was drug-induced due to a lethal dose of heroin combined with fentanyl, Della Fave said.

Members of the Ocean County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit and High Tech Crimes Unit, the Lacey Township police department and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Crime Scene Investigation Unit conducted the investigation. Ocean County Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Michael Weatherstone is the case prosecutor.

Photo: Courtesy of Ocean County Prosecutor's Office