Drug Overdose Death Of Bergen County Man Leads To Arrest, Charges

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — After a 37-year-old Rochelle Park man died of an apparent drug overdose at a private home, a Paterson man has been charged with 5 counts of fentanyl distribution and "strict liability."

Raequann Reid, 29, of Paterson was arrested on Thursday, July 25 and charged with first-degree strict liability in a drug induced death and five counts of third-degree distribution of fentanyl, said the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

He was charged in connection with the death of James A. Mara, 37, at home in Rochelle Park this month, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at approximately 9:47 a.m., the Rochelle Park Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting an unconscious and unresponsive male in a private residence on Rochelle Avenue.

Paramedics pronounced Mara dead.

"Indicators of a possible drug overdose were noted, and detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotic Task Force were notified," prosecutors said.

Prosecutors investigated Mara's death and "the related drug activity," they said.

They determined that the victim had recently ingested suspected fentanyl, and that Reid "distributed the fatal dose of narcotics to the victim causing his death."

Investigators executed a search warrant at Reid's Paterson home and arrested him. They took him to the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.

Mara's co-workers praised him as "a pleasure to work with" and "a great leader" in tributes under his obituary.