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Rajik Morphis, 39, of Wrightstown, and Ozell Sutton, 39, also of Wrightstown, were charged with strict liability for a drug-Induced death and other drug charges, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina.
Sutton was arrested during a warranted search of his residence on May 17 by members of the BCPO Gang, Gun and Narcotics Task Force and the New Jersey State Police, Coffina said.
Morphis was taken into custody the next day by officers from the Pemberton Township Police Department, the prosecutor said.
The defendants were being held in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly pending detention hearings in Superior Court.
The investigation on Sept. 2, 2021, when New Jersey State Police troopers were dispatched to a West Main Street apartment in Wrightstown for a call to provide medical assistance. Upon arrival, they found Emergency Medical Services personnel treating an unresponsive adult male for an apparent overdose.
Troopers and EMS technicians attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation but were unable to revive the victim.
Nicholas DiCola, 35, was pronounced dead just after 6 a.m., Coffina said.
The investigation revealed that DiCola fatally overdosed on drugs he purchased from Morphis and Sutton, Coffina said.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined DiCola died of fentanyl and xylazine toxicity. Xylazine is a veterinary sedative that is being seen more frequently as an additive in heroin and fentanyl sold on the street.
The case was investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office Gang, Gun and Narcotics Task Force and the New Jersey State Police, with assistance from the Pemberton Township Police Department and the Burlington County Medical Examiner’s Office. DiCola will be prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Michael Angermeier, supervisor of the BCPO Gang, Gun and Narcotics Task Force (GGNTF).
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