Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Woman faces prison for Willow Grove man’s overdose
NORRISTOWN » As the mother of a Willow Grove man who died of a fentanyl overdose gave gut-wrenching testimony describing the loss of her son, the woman who provided the fatal dose of drugs to him admitted her guilt and learned she’s headed to state prison.
Johneia Marie Garrett, 27, of the 1500 block of Widener Place, Philadelphia, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to charges of involuntary manslaughter and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in connection with the April 10, 2019, overdose death of Nicholas Golden, 25, in his Willow Grove residence.
As part of a plea agreement, Judge William R. Carpenter sentenced Garrett, who listed a previous address along the 1900 block of Coolidge Avenue in Upper Moreland, to two to five years in a state correctional facility. With a consecutive two years of probation, the sentence means Garrett will be under court supervision for seven years. The judge ordered Garrett to surrender to prison officials on Sept. 17 to begin serving her sentence.
“She admits that she did provide a combination of fentanyl and heroin to Nicholas Golden and she acknowledges that that conduct did in fact directly cause his death when he overdosed later that night,” said Assistant District Attorney Gabrielle C. Hughes, adding the prison term sought by prosecutors should send a message to other drug suppliers that the consequences of such conduct can result in homicide-related charges being filed against them. “I would hope that this plea sends a message that these drug deliveries, delivering these poisonous drugs, is not going unnoticed by our county’s investigators.”
Hughes said Golden’s family “has been through a complete nightmare.”
Audra Dallatore, Golden’s mother, tearfully testified that she went to wake her son up on that April morning thinking he had overslept and was late for work but instead found his lifeless body, “a vision that is etched in my mind and will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
“As a mother, the first thing you worry about as soon as your child is born is keeping them safe. It’s your top priority, taking precedence over all else. The worst case scenario any parent can think of regarding their child is having them die before you. Having to bury your child is a nightmare that keeps every parent up at night,” Dallatore spoke in court, adding, “I was forced to live that nightmare and have been continuously living it ever since.
“The emotional toll my son’s death has had on me has been immeasurable, as it would be for any parent… It’s a process that many people say ‘it will get better with time,’ which may stand true for others, but for me, his mother, it is a life sentence,” Dallatore said.
Choking back tears, Dallatore said she misses her son’s phone calls and text messages telling her that he loved her. She added his death “created a wave of pain” for so many people, including his father, his sister, his fiancée and his two young daughters.
“They will not have their daddy be present for birthdays, holidays or to walk them down the aisle on their wedding day. It is heartbreaking to watch them grow up without their daddy, knowing how much not only Nick is missing out on, but how much his girls are missing out on,” Dallatore said.
Julia Grochowaski, the mother of Golden’s fiancée, told the judge “our world was blown to pieces.”
“Nick was gone, just like that… stolen from the arms of all those who loved him,” said Grochowaski, who thanked court officials and law enforcement members who investigated and handled the case.
Dallatore was candid, saying Golden was an addict and struggled daily to stay sober.
“He referred to his addiction as his ‘demon.’ Many nights he would cry and ask ‘why me?’ and my heart ached for him. As his mom, I could fix many things, but this was one thing that I couldn’t fix, no matter how hard I tried,” Dallatore said.
“Nick did not want to die. He was so excited to be a husband and a father and was looking forward to his future with his young family. He voiced his desire to be rid of his demon almost daily,” Dallatore added.
Dallatore confided that she had many conversations with her son about her concerns he would get a “bad batch of heroin” and she said his response was “don’t worry mom I know where I’m getting it.”
“I truly believe that if he knew that night that the heroin he purchased was laced with fentanyl he would have not used and would not have died,” Dallatore said.
During Dallatore’s emotional testimony, Garrett, who was represented by defense lawyer Thomas C. Egan III, buried her face in her hands several times and appeared to weep.
When she addressed the courtroom, Garrett said, “He was my friend since kindergarten… I just want to say that.”
Garrett’s guilty plea came just days before her trial was to get under way on Sept. 13.
As part of the plea agreement, a more serious charge of drug delivery resulting in death, which is punishable of up to 40 years in prison, was dismissed against Garrett. Other charges of criminal use of a communication facility, tampering with physical evidence and recklessly endangering another person also were dismissed against Garrett.
The investigation began about 5:07 a.m. April 10, 2019, when Upper Moreland police responded to Golden’s residence in the 300 block of Forest Avenue, in the Willow Grove section of the township, for a report of an unresponsive man who had a history of heroin abuse, according to the criminal complaint filed by Special Montgomery County Detective Zachary Zeoli and Upper Moreland Detective Sergeant James J. Kelly.
Golden was discovered deceased in a second-floor bedroom. An autopsy subsequently determined Golden died from heroin and fentanyl toxicity, with no other drugs involved or any other pre-existing conditions, according to court papers.
Detectives said fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
“Fentanyl is often added to heroin to increase its potency, or sold as highly potent heroin. Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and actually don’t know that they are purchasing fentanyl, which often results in overdose deaths,” detectives wrote in the criminal complaint.
As they processed the scene, investigators found blue and white baggies consistent with what heroin or fentanyl is packaged in, assorted drug paraphernalia, a rolled up $1 bill and Golden’s cellphone, according to the arrest affidavit.
“We are also aware that drug users will commonly use rolled up U.S. currency as a means to ingest controlled substances through the nose by snorting it. The rolled up $1 bill seized was found underneath of Golden’s body,” Zeoli and Kelly wrote in the arrest affidavit.
Analyzing the contents of Golden’s cellphone, detectives identified Garrett and an associate as drug traffickers who had interacted with Golden on multiple occasions. They further established through multiple texts and Facebook messages that Golden and Garrett had met the evening before his death during which Garrett supplied heroin/fentanyl to Golden, according to the criminal complaint.
“Based on our knowledge, training and experience, it is our opinion that Nicholas Golden and Johneia Garrett were in a dialogue regarding the procurement and sale of heroin and or fentanyl,” Zeoli and Kelly alleged, adding the phone messages showed Garrett agreed to sell Golden two bags of heroin.
An analysis of cellphone data showed that Golden’s phone traveled from his residence to Garrett’s residence on Widener Place in Philadelphia between 7 and 8 p.m. on April 9, which aligned with the Facebook messages between them, according to detectives.
On April 10, detectives used Golden’s phone to attempt to arrange a heroin buy and learned through those interactions that Garrett knew the victim had died of an overdose, court papers indicate. Detectives also discovered that Garrett had gained access to the victim’s Facebook account and was actively deleting evidence about their interactions involving the heroin/ fentanyl buys, according to the arrest affidavit.