Five Defendants Charged with Drug Delivery Resulting in Death, Another with Involuntary Manslaughter Following Four Overdose Deaths in Montco
Pictured above, clockwise from upper left, Brenda McLaughlin, Antonio Rivera, Maurice C. Johnson, Kurt Espenship, Mark Hertzog, and Marquese Gaines.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, with police officials from Abington Township, Lower Merion, Upper Merion, Lower Providence Township, and Whitpain Township announced today the arrests of five defendants on the charge of Drug Delivery Resulting in Death and one defendant on charges of involuntary manslaughter related to four overdose deaths that occurred from August 2018 to January 2019 in Montgomery County.
Charged with Drug Delivery Resulting in Death (DDRD), Possession with Intent to Deliver and related charges are:
- Maurice C. Johnson, 26, of 7337 Frontenac Street in Philadelphia;
- Brenda McLaughlin, 37, of 2673 Woodstream Drive in Hatfield;
- Antonio Rivera, 33, 822 W. Venango Street in Philadelphia;
- Mark R. Hertzog, 44, of 513 Hamilton Street in Norristown;
- Marquese H. Gaines, 27, of 4235 N. Darien Street in Philadelphia.
Also charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver, Involuntary Manslaughter and related charges was Kurt W. Espenship, 52, of 732 Hidden Valley Road in King of Prussia.
Five of these six defendants have been arrested and arraigned. The sixth—Marquese Gaines—has fled. A warrant has been issued for his arrest and law enforcement is asking for the public’s help in locating Gaines.
Anyone with any information as to his whereabouts is asked to call the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-278- 3368 or the Upper Merion Police Department at 610-265-3232.
The arrests of these six individuals came as a result of multi-agency investigations involving:
- Montgomery County Detective Bureau’s Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET)
- Liberty Mid-Atlantic HIDTA
- Abington Township Police Department
- East Greenville Police Department
- Lower Merion Township Police Department
- Lower Providence Township Police Department
- Upper Merion Township Police Department
- Whitpain Township Police Department
More information at this link.