Man Sentenced In Connection With Howell Woman’s Overdose Death

HOWELL, NJ - A New Jersey man was sentenced to six years in state prison as a result of a plea to the first degree crime of strict liability for a Howell woman’s drug induced death last year, authorities said.

Lateef Reevey, 31, of Long Branch, was sentenced on Feb. 17 by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Lourdes Lucas to six years in state prison subject to the No Early Release Act (N.E.R.A.), in which he will be required to serve 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

The Long Branch resident pleaded guilty in December 2020 in connection with the fatal overdose death of 25 year-old Lucy Yardley of Howell, who died on Feb. 21, 2020.

Under New Jersey law, a person who distributes a controlled dangerous substance is liable for a death which results from taking the substance, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said.

At approximately 6:07 p.m. on Feb. 21, 2020, Tinton Falls police located Yardley lying unconscious and not breathing on the bathroom floor of a local motel room. Yardley was pronounced dead despite the life saving efforts of paramedics.

A joint investigation by the Tinton Falls Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office identified Reevey as having communicated with Yardley the day before. On Feb. 22, 2020, police located Reevey in the parking lot of the same local motel, found to be in possession of a quantity of heroin and cocaine packaged for sale, as well as two cell phones.

As police began to approach the subject, Reevey broke one of the two phones, one of which he had used to communicate with the victim two days earlier, prosecutors said. He was taken into custody and charged with two counts of third degree possession of CDS, two counts of third degree possession of CDS with intent to distribute, one count of third degree conspiracy to distribute, one count of fourth degree tampering with physical evidence and the disorderly persons offense of possession of drug paraphernalia.

In addition to the six-year sentence, Reevey also received a five year term in state prison for an unrelated charge of conspiracy to possess a controlled dangerous substance.