A Philadelphia man is heading to state prison for his role in the September 2020 fatal overdose of 49-year-old Hatfield Township resident Jason Evans.
According to a report by Carl Hessler at the Pottstown Mercury, 59-year-old Derrick Jackson entered a guilty plea last week to one felony count of drug delivery resulting in death as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. As a result of the agreement, Common Pleas Judge Wendy Rothstein sentenced Jackson to four-to-eight-years in state prison, followed by one year of probation, according to the report.
Hessler’s report indicates that Jackson’s trial was set to begin with jury selection last Wednesday, however Jackson indicated that he wanted to admit to the charge. Had Jackson been found guilty of drug delivery resulting in death at trial, he would have faced a maximum sentence of 20-to-40-years in state prison, according to the report.
Jackson will begin serving his sentence on March 11, the report states.
The charges stem from the September 2020 fatal overdose of Jason Evans in Hatfield Township.
According to the complaint, Hatfield Township Police were dispatched to an apartment on Penn Avenue at 7:23 a.m. on Sept. 30, 2020, for a report of a cardiac emergency that was later amended to be an overdose. Upon arrival, police and medics located Evans unresponsive in his bed, the report states.
Emergency medical personnel attempted to revive Evans, however those efforts were unsuccessful, police said. Evans was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Following the autopsy and the results of toxicology tests, forensic pathologist Dr. Kahlil S. Wardak opined that Evans died from a lethal dose of fentanyl and heroin in his system, and it was a direct and substantial factor in his death, according to the report.
Investigators noted that small plastic bags stamped with “BAD BUNNY” were located at the scene. The contents of those bags were determined to be heroin and fentanyl, police said.
A joint investigation by the Hatfield Township Police Department and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau was launched, which revealed that Evans had previously overdosed on July 24, 2020, and Sept. 5, 2020, however he survived both incidents. In both cases, bags of the “BAD BUNNY” heroin were found at the scene, police said.
Investigators added that bags of “BAD BUNNY” were also located the scene of the non-fatal overdose of Rebecca Ennis, of Sellersville, on Sept. 13, 2019, as well as the scene of her fatal overdose on Dec. 1, 2019.
The report states that Jackson was known to both Ennis and Evans via their employment, and a December 2019 traffic stop by Philadelphia Police found Jackson to be in possession of “BAD BUNNY” bags. Additional investigation revealed that Evans had purchased “BAD BUNNY” heroin from Jackson two days prior to his fatal overdose, as well as his two-prior non-fatal overdoses, according to the report.
“The defendant was selling poison and branding it ‘BAD BUNNY.’ And in pursuit of making money, this defendant left a wake of death and destruction behind,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. “There are far too many lives cut short by overdose deaths, and law enforcement in Montgomery County will continue to be vigilant in holding drug dealers accountable for selling the deadly drugs that kill people.”
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