Little Egg Harbor pair supplied lethal dose of Heroin, Fentanyl to 16-year old

A Little Egg Harbor pair is sitting in the Ocean County Jail awaiting detention hearings after they were arrested and charged with the drug induced death of a 16-year old township resident.

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Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer and LEH Police Captain James Hawkins made the joint announcements this week that David Belk, 45, and Stephanie O’Neill, 44, are charged with Strict Liability Drug Induced Death after a sixteen-year-old male in Little Egg Harbor died on July 3, 2021.

Belk and O’Neill were also charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Possession of Heroin with Intent to Distribute and Possession of Heroin.

Little Egg Harbor Police responded to a home on East Susquehanna Drive July 3 for a report of an unresponsive sixteen-year-old male lying on the floor.

Once on scene, officers immediately administered lifesaving techniques and the teen was then brought to Hackensack Meridian Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin where he later passed away.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and Little Egg Harbor Police Detective Bureau ran the investigation into his death and learned that Belk and O’Neill had supplied him with Heroin and Fentanyl.

That was confirmed when the Ocean County Medical Examiner ran a toxicology test and determined that it was due to having that Heroin and Fentanyl in his system.

Belk and O’Neill were then charged with Strict Liability Drug Induced Death.

O’Neill was arrested on Thursday and is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Belk fled the area and was arrested on Friday by NJ Transit Police in Atlantic City.

When police found Belk on Friday, they also found him in possession of Heroin, so he faces new charges for that offense.

Belk has since been processed at Little Egg Harbor Township Police Headquarters and was then brought to the Ocean County Jail where he will remain lodged pending a detention hearing.