Lawnside Drug Dealer Pleads Guilty to Strict Liability for a Drug-Induced Death

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a Lawnside drug dealer pled guilty yesterday in Superior Court to causing the death of a Marlton customer to whom he sold heroin last year.

Under an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, Jimmy Flakes Jr., 41, of Lawnside, will serve seven years in New Jersey state prison in exchange for pleading guilty to Strict Liability for a Drug-Induced Death (First Degree).

The Hon. Gerard H. Breland, J.S.C., scheduled sentencing for January 11, 2019.

The investigation revealed that Jeffrey Potter, 45, from the Marlton section of Evesham Township, was discovered dead in his home on September 28, 2016 after using heroin that had been purchased from Flakes.

The investigation further revealed that Flakes made a profit of $10 on the sale of the heroin to the victim.

An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined the cause of death was opiate toxicity.

The case against Flakes is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Jeremy M. Lackey and Assistant Prosecutor Jamie Hutchinson. It was investigated by the Evesham Township Police Department, with assistance from the Lawnside Police Department in Camden County. The lead investigator was Evesham Township Police Detective Christopher A. DeFrancesco.