HANOVER — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Hanover Township Police Chief Mark Roddy announce that Blaine Holley, 34, with a last known address in Hillside and formerly of Irvington, has been charged with crimes related to the September 2016 death of Eric Decter, 31, in Hanover.
Holley was charged Thursday by Warrant-Complaint with the first-degree crime of Strict Liability for Drug-Induced Death, and the third degree crime of Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Dangerous Substances (Heroin and Cocaine). The charges were authorized by state Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Taylor, in Morristown. Holley was arrested on these charges on Friday in Newark. He was remanded to the Morris County Correctional Facility pending future court proceedings.
On the evening of September 19, 2016, law enforcement responded to the America’s Best Value Inn, 1255 State Route 10 East, Whippany on a report of an unconscious male suffering from an apparent narcotics overdose. The male, who was pronounced as deceased at the scene, was later identified as Decter, 31.
Through a subsequent investigation, it is alleged that Holley distributed various narcotics to Decter on multiple occasions, including on September 19. It is further alleged that the ingestion of the narcotics distributed by Holley to Decter resulted in Decter’s death.
Holley has been charged with Strict Liability for Drug-Induced Death in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-9. This statute provides that any person who manufactures, distributes or dispenses any of a number of controlled dangerous substances is strictly liable for a death that results from the injection, inhalation, or ingestion of that substance. This is a first-degree crime, which is punishable by up to 20 years in New Jersey State Prison and is subject to the 85 percent parole ineligibility requirements of the No Early Release Act.
Members of the Hanover Police Department, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Special Enforcement Unit, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office – Criminal Investigation Section, and the Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office have contributed to this investigation.
Editors Note: A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. Despite this accusation, the defendant is presumed innocent until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
