FREEHOLD – An inmate at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI) has admitted to providing a fellow inmate with the drugs that caused the overdose that killed him, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Tuesday.
Appearing before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Chad N. Cagan last Friday, Alvino Hinton, 48, of Long Branch pleaded guilty to a single count of Strict Liability for a Drug-Induced Death.
At approximately 9:05 a.m. on Sunday, April 17, 2022, MCCI officers found 31-year-old David Egner of Toms River non-responsive on the floor of his cell. First aid was immediately rendered and Egner was rushed to a local hospital for treatment, where he was diagnosed as suffering from heroin/fentanyl poisoning. He was pronounced deceased at the hospital several days later.
A cooperative investigation led by MCPO Detective Brian Hammarstrom and also involving members of the MCPO Major Crimes Bureau and Professional Responsibility and Bias Crime Unit, along with the MCCI Special Investigations Division, revealed that earlier on the same morning he was found unresponsive, Egner had entered Hinton’s cell to deliver a tray of food. At that time, Hinton admitted during his plea hearing, he provided Egner with a quantity of heroin laced with fentanyl. Hinton was formally charged in August 2022.
This case is being prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Lisa Commentucci. Hinton is being represented by Paul E. Zager, Esq., with an office in Freehold.
Sentencing in the case has been tentatively scheduled for Friday, August 11, at which time Hinton is expected to face a term of 10 years in state prison, with at least 85 percent of the term to be served prior to the possibility of parole under the provisions of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA).
