By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Bergen County announced the sentencing term handed down in Bergen County Superior Court on Monday, October 20, against 32-year-old Juhaan Hammond, of Garfield, in connection with charges filed during a 2023 strict liability drug overdose death investigation.
Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella stated that on Sunday, September 17, 2023, the Garfield Police Department responded to the drug overdose of two victims.
Arriving officers initiated life-saving measures, including administering Naloxone, BCPO officials say.
BCPO officials stated the victims were subsequently transported to an area hospital for treatment, where one of the victims, a 30-year-old Garfield man, was pronounced deceased.
Detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotic Task Force and the Garfield Police Department, with assistance from the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, initiated an investigation into the overdose death and the related drug activity, according to Bergen County officials.
Bergen County officials said the investigation revealed that Juhaan Hammond distributed a fatal dose of narcotics to the victim, causing his death.
Hammond was arrested by detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Garfield Police Department on Thursday, September 21, 2023, Bergen County officials say.
According to Bergen County authorities, on Monday, July 21, Juhaan Hammond pled guilty before the Honorable Kevin Purvin, J.S.C. in Bergen County Superior Court to first-degree strict liability drug-induced death of another. He also pleaded guilty to a violation of probation.
BCPO officials stated that on Monday, October 20, during a proceeding in Bergen County Superior Court before the Honorable Kevin Purvin, J.S.C, Juhaan Hammond was sentenced to seven years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (“NERA”), which requires the defendant to serve at least 85% of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
Hammond was also sentenced to five years' imprisonment, to be served concurrently, for violating his probation, Bergen County officials said.