SWAT Team Raids Bergen County Home, Arrests 2 In Man's Fentanyl Overdose Death

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Two people have been charged for giving a fatal dose of fentanyl to a 54-year-old man who died at home in Hackensack in November, prosecutors said Thursday.

Robert Wichowski, 31, and Xiomara Frias-Barbosa, both of Hasbrouck Heights, were charged with the strict liability drug-induced death of the man, as well as drug offenses, said Bergen County prosecutors.

Prosecutors said that on Saturday, Nov. 2, just after 6:30 p.m., the Hackensack Police Department responded to a medical emergency at a private residence.

They found a 54-year-old man who was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene, prosecutors said.

Detectives determined the man ingested a substance believed to contain fentanyl, they said.

After an investigation by police and prosecutors, the pair were identified as the ones "who distributed the fatal dose of narcotics to the victim, causing his death," prosecutors said.

On Wednesday, the Bergen County Regional SWAT Team joined law enforcement to search a residents associated with both suspects in Habrouck Heights.

Detectives found several hundred bags of suspected fentanyl and drug paraphernalia, prosecutors said.

Besides strict liability, the pair were charged with second-degree possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and several other fentanyl charges.

They were taken to the Bergen County Jail to await appearances in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, prosecutors said.