Man charged with delivering heroin to Polk Township man who died

A New Jersey man has been charged with delivering heroin to a Polk Township man who later died from taking the drug.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by trooper Nicolas De La Iglesia of the Pennsylvania State Police Troop-N Lehighton, Jordan Levine, 31, Plainsboro has been charged in the death of Robert Evennou.

Evennou, 28, was discovered unresponsive while lying in his girlfriend’s bed in the 400 block of Rodeo Drive at 11:50 a.m. Feb. 25, 2017.

Evennou’s girlfriend reported that he had arrived at her home around 4 a.m. that day, that they snorted heroin together. When she awoke, Evennou was unresponsive, she said.

She contacted 911, and emergency personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.

The death was determined to be caused by mixed substance toxicity, as his toxicology information included alprazolam, fentanyl and bupropion.

A doctor said that the level of fentanyl found during toxicology testing was a substantial factor in Evennou’s death.

The evidence collected at the scene included suspected heroin, methadone, alprazolam, diazepam, suboxone, marijuana and paraphernalia.

All suspected heroin and suspected heroin packaging was stamped with a gorilla face and the word “king” on it.

Police obtained Evennou’s girlfriend’s cellphone, which was used to arrange for Evennou to purchase heroin and bring it to her residence for them to share.

Evennou’s girlfriend told police that she and the victim only purchased heroin from a man who she called “Jarrod.” The contact was saved in her phone as “Jordan-Stretch.”

She said that she had made in-person drug transactions with him in the past, and that Evennou picked up heroin for them to share from this same person on Feb. 24, 2017, and it was stamped with the gorilla face and word “king” on it.

She pointed police to this person’s Facebook profile page, and from that De La Iglesia was able to obtain his identity as Levine.

The woman’s cellphone showed a text message sent to her on Feb. 24, 2017, from the contact saved as “Jordan-Stretch,” which states “Tell (Ren) be careful with the new discs they’re strong tell him install one at a time.”

During the girlfriend’s initial interview, she said that Levine had told her that the drugs they were buying were strong, and this message is consistent with her statement.

A search warrant was executed on Evennou’s cellphone, and De La Iglesia saw multiple phone calls and texts between Evennou and a contact listed as “Jordan.”

These messages arrange for the purchase of heroin packets, and the last three messages sent from Levine read, “Be careful with this,” “It’s strong” and “Don’t kill yourself.”

Multiple items seized from the scene were sent to the Wyoming Regional Laboratory, and confirmed to contain fentanyl.

De La Iglesia said fentanyl is commonly added to or substituted for heroin during sales.

A court order was obtained for the seller’s telephone number. Metro PCS responded to the order, and subscriber information was no longer available. The records, however, showed communication with the targeted telephone number and the victim’s cellphone during the relevant time frame.

On Sept. 18, Task Force officer Chris Shelly and Task Force officer Kim Lippincott interviewed Levine in the parking lot of his residence.

Levine said that he did not know Evennou or his girlfriend, and when asked if he was familiar with the stamp from his case, he said that stamps always changed.

Levine faces a charge of drug delivery resulting in death.

He is currently incarcerated in the Monroe County Correctional Facility in lieu of $250,000 bail, and is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. March 8 before District Judge Daniel Kresge of Tannersville.