September 22, 2022 at 11:21 a.m.
Two charged with reckless homicide in April drug death
Two charged with reckless homicide in April drug death
According to criminal complaints filed Sept. 16, Jasmine M. Lariviere and Malik I. Jones are accused of delivering to the deceased a substance that resulted in a fatal overdose.
The two made their initial court appearances on the reckless homicide charges Monday afternoon 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. I did talk with the forensic pathologist Thursday (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.
In addition, Lariviere was operating the vehicle after having had her driver's license revoked.
Various amounts and types of illicit substances were found in the vehicle following the traffic stop, including a pill located inside Lariviere's purse. According to the complaints, that pill matched the description of the pill Lariviere and Jones told police they delivered to the deceased. The pill was sent to the state crime lab for testing and came back positive for the presence of fentanyl, the complaint states.
According to the complaints, 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.
New Oneida County circuit judge Mary Roth Burns set a $10,000 cash bond for Jones and a $5,000 cash bond for Lariviere. She also scheduled adjourned initial appearances for Wednesday afternoon.
Jones was still in custody and without counsel when his case was called on Wednesday. He told the court that efforts to contact the attorney who is representing him on his other cases have thus far been insuccessful. He requested a bond reduction, however Schiek objected to any modification due to the number of open cases Jones is facing in a number of counties as well as the seriousness of the offense alleged in this case. The court agreed and denied the review.
Lariviere appeared in person, having posted the $5,000 cash bond set on Monday. She waived her right to a preliminary hearing and was ordered to return to court on Oct. 11 for arraignment/status conference.
The reckless homicide charge is a Class C felony carrying a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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