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Linda Naulty pleaded guilty in November to first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death and a drug-selling charge, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina.
The prison sentence was handed down on Friday in Superior Court in Mount Holly by Superior Court Judge Gerard H. Breland.
Her plea agreement calls for an eight-year term for the first-degree crime, of which Naulty must serve 85 percent before becoming eligible for parole. The three years she received for narcotics possession with intent to distribute will run consecutively, Coffina said.
An investigation began on Feb. 8, 2021, when Lumberton police were dispatched to the 500 block of Main Street for an unconscious adult male.
Police found the body of Paul Cronrath IV, 29, who had fatally overdosed in his bedroom, Coffina said.
Within a few hours, investigators identified Naulty as the source of the drugs and charged her with possessing and planning to sell illegal narcotics, the prosecutor said.
When taken into custody, Naulty allegedly had multiple doses of fentanyl and nearly $1,400 in cash in her possession, Coffina said.
The charges were upgraded after the results of toxicology tests confirmed that the drugs found in Cronrath’s bedroom were identical to the ones found in Naulty’s possession at the time of her arrest, Coffina said.
“I commend the Lumberton and BCPO officers and detectives for the prompt and efficient investigation that led to the substantial sentence for the defendant in this case,” Coffina said.
The investigation was conducted by detectives from the Lumberton Township Police Department and the BCPO Gang, Gun & Narcotics Task Force.
The lead investigator was LTPD Detective Aaron Roselli.
Assistant Prosecutor Laura Heisman handled the case.
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