Hasbrouck Heights Couple Charged With Supplying Drug Resulting In Death
Sunday, March 9, 2025, 8:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, NJ.- On Wednesday, following a months-long investigation, a 31-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman, both of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, were taken into custody and jailed after being charged in connection with allegedly supplying a fentanyl-laced illicit narcotic that resulted in the overdose death of a 54-year-old man in November 2024.
According to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella, On Saturday, November 2, 2024, shortly after 6:30 p.m., members of the Hackensack Police Department responded to a 911 Emergency Call reporting a medical emergency at a Hackensack residence.
Upon arrival, Police Officers found a 54-year-old man unresponsive from an apparent drug overdose. The man was subsequently pronounced deceased at the scene. Responding Police Officers found evidence of narcotics use inside the home. During the initial investigation, Detectives of the Hackensack Police Department determined that the man had taken a substance believed to be laced with fentanyl.
Detectives of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force, in conjunction with the Hackensack Police Department, launched an investigation into the death of the man and related narcotics activity.
Following months of investigation, Detectives determined that the illicit narcotic that the man ingested was laced with fentanyl and identified Robert Wichowski, 31, and Xiomara Frias-Barbosa, 28, both of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, were responsible for distributing the fatal dose of the narcotic, killing the man.
Accordingly, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, Detectives of the Bergen County Narcotics Task Force, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department, and the Bergen County Regional S.W.A.T. Team executed a court-authorized search warrant at the Hasbrouck Heights residence of Wichowski and Frias-Barbosa.
During the search, Detectives located and seized hundreds of bags of suspected fentanyl and drug paraphernalia. Wichowski and Frias-Barbosa were both taken into custody and formally charged with first-degree Strict Liability for a Drug-Induced Death; second-degree Possession with the Intent to Distribute Fentanyl; third-degree Possession with the Intent to Distribute Fentanyl within 1,000 Feet of a School; third-degree Distribution of Fentanyl; and fourth-degree Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
Wichowski and Frias-Barbosa were processed on the charges and were remanded to the Bergen County Jail, pending future court proceedings in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, New Jersey.
“The rules of the court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendants and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”
