Fatal Teen Overdose Leads To Prison Sentence For Morris Co. Man

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A Morris County man has been sentenced to over a decade in state prison after selling drugs to a teen that resulted in a fatal fentanyl overdose, according to Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll.

John P. Rowe, 30, of Budd Lake, pleaded guilty to first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death, first-degree possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, and a violation of probation.

On April 29, Rowe was sentenced by Judge Stephen J. Taylor to 12 years in state prison, Carroll said in a statement.

The sentencing follows an investigation into the Sept. 22 death at a Days Inn in Mount Olive, where police found an unconscious male later identified as 19-year-old G.B., according to Carroll.

G.B. was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead on Sept. 23, 2021.

Authorities claimed that Rowe distributed the fentanyl on Sept. 21, 2021, in Morristown, and results of a toxicology analysis confirmed the presence of fentanyl in G.B.'s system, Carroll said.

The Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that, based on the toxicology analysis, the fentanyl found in the victim's system was the cause of his death.

During a separate investigation, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a Mount Olive residence where Rowe was known to live in June 2022.

Officers found a number of items during the search warrant's execution, including more than five ounces of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled dangerous substance.

Rowe was serving a probationary sentence at the time of both of these incidents, Carroll said.