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Marquese Smith pleaded guilty on Thursday in Superior Court to first-degree strict liability for a drug-induced death, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina.
Under a plea agreement, Smith faces eight years in state prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 12, Coffina said.
An investigation began in June 2019 when Maple Shade police responded to the Ryan Run West Apartment Complex and found the body of 33-year-old Kristi Ventura, who had fatally overdosed.
The Burlington County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded the cause of death was cocaine and fentanyl toxicity, Coffina said.
Smith has been held in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly since his arrest in October 2019.
Since 2017, there have been 26 defendants charged in Burlington County with strict liability for drug-induced deaths, the prosecutor said.
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