Drug Arrests Made as Police Investigate Man's Death

Confirming that three friends of the dead man were arrested on drug possession charges, Lawrence Township police said today (Feb. 1) that they are continuing to investigate if drugs played a role in the death of a 26-year-old man whose body was found inside a home on Brandon Road last week.

Police department spokesman Lt. Charles Edgar said investigators will not know what role – if any – drugs played in the death of Michael J. Doolan until toxicology tests are completed.

Edgar said it was about 11:40 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 27, when police received a 911 call reporting there was a person – later identified as Doolan – who was “unconscious and not breathing” inside a residence on Brandon Road.

Police officers, emergency medical personnel, and the township’s on-duty crew of career firefighters all responded and initiated life-saving efforts on Doolan, but the 26-year-old from Province Line Road in Hopewell Township was already dead, Edgar said.

As police began their investigation into the circumstances surrounding Doolan’s death, Edgar said, they discovered illegal drugs in the house and took three men who were there into custody.

Edgar said John R. Frazee, 26, of Brandon Lane, Lawrence Township, and Samuel Serrano, 28, of North Howard Street, Philadelphia, were each charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of CDS with intent to distribute. And Orion Xavier, 25, of North Main Street, Pennington, was charged with CDS possession, he said.

Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, Edgar declined to reveal what type of drugs police found in the house.

According to his obituary, Doolan was a 2004 graduate of Hopewell Valley Central High School.