Burlington County, NJ, Drug Dealer Sentenced for Death of Customer
A Pemberton Township drug dealer will be spending over a decade behind bars for causing the death of a customer to whom she sold fentanyl-laced heroin in 2017.
36-year-old Shannon McGuigan was sentenced on Friday to 12 years in state prison and must serve 85 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole.
Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina says McGuigan was found guilty in March of first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death, third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance, third-degree possession of a CDS with intent to distribute, and third-degree distribution of a CDS charges.
In a separate case, McGuigan also pleaded guilty on Friday to a single count of third-degree cocaine possession. She was sentenced to four years on that charge, which will run concurrent to the other sentence.
We appreciate the Court recognizing the seriousness of the defendant’s crime and we hope that a significant sentence like this one will give people pause about selling dangerous drugs to others.
Authorities say the investigation began the morning of May 30, 2017, after the 25-year-old decedent was found in her Pemberton Township home by her mother. An autopsy determined the cause of death was due to heroin and fentanyl toxicity. An investigation revealed that the victim purchased drugs from McGuigan before she fatally overdosed.
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