October 17, 2022 at 11:21 a.m.
Not guilty pleas entered in drug death case
Not guilty pleas entered in drug death case
Malik I. Jones entered his not guilty plea Monday following a preliminary hearing featuring testimony from Det. Chad Wanta. A day later, co-defendant Jasmine M. Lariviere entered the same plea.
According to criminal complaints filed Sept. 16, Jones and Lariviere are accused of delivering to the deceased a substance that resulted in a fatal overdose.
The two made their initial court appearances on Sept. 19 at which time Oneida County district attorney Mike Schiek stated the two have admitted to delivering an illegal substance to the deceased.
"These allegations go back to a death that occurred in April of this year," Schiek explained.
"We were waiting for the autopsy report to come back (and) it has now come back," Schiek continued. "I did talk with the forensic pathologist (and he indicated) the cause of death was fentanyl toxicity."
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid analgesic 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
Schiek went on to characterize the evidence in the case as strong and noted that the state has "corroboration with interviews with Mr. Jones as well as the co-defendant."
"We also have the test results back from the substance that was located next to the victim as well as some technology information that addresses placement of the two co-defendants with their phones in close proximity of his house," he added.
Shortly after the death, police received information indicating a potential crime may have occurred and that Jones and Lariviere might have been involved, the complaints state. Law enforcement later obtained a warrant to place a GPS device on the couple's vehicle and track their movements.
The two were arrested in early May following a traffic stop. At the time, both Lariviere and Jones were under bond and/or probation conditions prohibiting them from having any contact with the other.
Various amounts and types of illicit substances were found in the vehicle following the traffic stop, including a pills located inside Lariviere's purse. According to the complaints, that pills matched the description of the pill Lariviere and Jones told police they delivered to the deceased. The pills were sent to the state crime lab for testing and came back positive for the presence of fentanyl, the complaint states.
According to the complaints and Wanta's testimony during Jones' preliminary hearing, Jones and Lariviere purchased what they were told were Percocet pills from a contact outside of the area and traveled to Oneida County in mid-April to deliver one of the pills to the victim.
The police interviews indicate Jones and Lariviere believed the pills were Percocet but were aware that there were "fake Percocet" pills circulating at the time. The complaints also state that Lariviere was upset upon learning of the death of the victim and was concerned that the death may have resulted from the substance they delivered to him.
Jones is being held in the county jail on $10,000 cash bond. During his adjourned initial appearance on Oct. 4, he requested a bond reduction. The state objected, with Schiek telling Oneida County circuit judge Mary Roth Burns that if any bond modification were to be made it should be an increase in the amount rather than a decrease.
Jones is due back in court Oct. 25 for a pretrial conference.
Lariviere is free after posting a $5,000 cash bail, however court records show the state filed a motion on Oct. 12 requesting a bond modification. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for Oct. 18.
The reckless homicide charge is a Class C felony carrying a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison.
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