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Zachary DiBattista, of Cinnaminson Township, was charged with strict liability for a drug-induced death, they said.
He was taken into custody Wednesday, Feb. 23 by the US Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, with assistance from the Camden and Atlantic City divisions, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Medford Township Police Chief Art Waterman.
An investigation began on March 6, 2021, after Medford police were dispatched to a Yorkshire Drive home for a report of an unattended death. Police found the body of Max Mather, 18, in his bedroom, they said.
Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined that Mather died from fentanyl toxicity. The toxicology report also noted the presence of Xylazine, an animal tranquilizer not approved for human use, the prosecutor said.
The investigation revealed that Mather fatally overdosed on pills he had purchased from DiBattista a day earlier at a Marlton convenience store during a meeting that was arranged on Snapchat, the prosecutor said. The investigation further revealed that Mather was purchasing what he believed to be Oxycontin pills, when in reality he was provided with counterfeit controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) containing fentanyl that were designed to resemble authentic oxycodone 30 mg tablets.
“One of the most tragic aspects of the unrelenting substance use disorder epidemic is how young overdose victims tend to be,” Coffina said.
Mather will be prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Michael Angermeier, supervisor of the BCPO GGNTF.
DiBattista was being held in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly pending a detention hearing in Superior Court.
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