Paterson Man Charged With Supplying Drugs Killing A Bergen County Man

Friday, March 7, 2025, 6:45 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

ELMWOOD PARK, NJ.- On Tuesday, a 35-year-old Paterson, New Jersey, man was taken into custody and jailed after being charged in connection with the fatal overdose of a Bergen County man who was found dead inside a room at an Elmwood Park, New Jersey motel.

     According to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella, on May 3, 2023, shortly after 11:00 a.m., members of the Elmwood Park Police Department responded to a medical emergency, reporting an unresponsive man inside a room at a motel located on Route 46 in Elmwood Park, New Jersey.

     Upon arrival, Police Officers located the lifeless body of a 42-year-old Bergen County man who was discovered by motel staff a short time earlier. The man was subsequently pronounced deceased at the scene. During the initial investigation, responding Police Officers found evidence of narcotics activity inside the motel room and notified Detectives of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force, and a joint investigation was launched.

During Investigation Detectives Identify Redfern As Drug Supplier

     Following months of investigation by Detectives of the Bergen County Narcotics Task Force and the Elmwood Police Department were able to determine that the illicit narcotic ingested by the 42-year-old man contained fentanyl and identified Terry Redfern, 35, of Paterson, New Jersey, as the individual who distributed the fatal dose of narcotics to the man, causing his death.

     On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, Detectives of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, with the assistance of the Port Authority Police Department and the New Jersey State Police, located and arrested Redfern in Paterson, New Jersey.

     Accordingly, following being taken into custody, Redfern was formally charged with first-degree Strict Liability for a Drug-Induced Death; and two counts of third-degree Distribution of Fentanyl. Redfern was processed on the charges and was remanded to the Bergen County Jail, pending future court proceedings in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, New Jersey.

     If convicted at trial, Redfern faces a maximum of up to 20 years in New Jersey State Prison.

“The rules of the court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”