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Lateef Reevey, 31, of Long Branch, was arrested in connection with the fatal overdose death of 25 year-old Lucy Yardley of Flanders, who died on Feb. 21 in Tinton Falls.
Reevey was charged with first-degree crime strict liability for drug-induced death, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said.
Reevey also was charged with distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, Gramiccioni said.
On Feb. 21 at 6:07 p.m., the Tinton Falls Police Department received a report of a possible overdose victim in a local motel room, the prosecutor said.
The responding officers located Lucy Yardley lying on the bathroom floor of her room, Gramiccioni said. She was unconscious and not breathing. Despite the efforts of the Tinton Falls Police Department, the Tinton Falls First Aid Squad, and the MONOC Paramedics, Yardley was pronounced deceased, he said.
After an investigation, police located Reevey in the parking lot of the same local motel. He was with an unspecified quantity of heroin and cocaine, packaged for sale, as well as two cellular telephones, Gramiccioni said.
As police officers approached him, Reevey broke one of the two phones, which he had used to communicate with the victim two days earlier, the prosecutor said. He was charged with several drug charges as well as conspiracy and tampering with physical evidence.
Court records show that Reevey has been charged with numerous theft and drug-related charges in the past. Reevey also was arrested in connection with a 2010 stabbing, as reported here.
Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher J. Decker is handling the case.
Director of the Office’s Major Crimes Bureau.
Reevey's lawyer is Michael Rosas of Middlesex County.
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