A 12-year-old boy died of a fentanyl overdose on a school bus after “his uncle made him clean his drug lab without gloves.”
- Troy Noakes forced his 12-year-old nephew to clean his drug lab without gloves, prosecutors say.
- A few days later, the boy overdosed on the school bus and died in the hospital a week later.
- The coroner found that the boy, who has not been named, died of fentanyl poisoning.
- Knockes faces a variety of charges, including aggravated manslaughter, endangering a child’s welfare, and strict liability for drug-related death.
- Joanna Johnson, Knox’s former partner, is accused of falsifying evidence.
A 12-year-old boy overdosed on fentanyl on a school bus after being forced to clean his uncle’s drug den without gloves, according to the New Jersey Attorney’s Office.
Troy Noakes, 35, is accused of forcing his nephew to work at his home drug lab in Camden County, resulting in the child’s drug-induced death a few days later.
On January 24, the child was found unconscious on a bus going to Gloucester Township Elementary School.
Troy Noakes, 35, faces multiple charges including endangering a child’s welfare.
A 12-year-old boy was riding a bus to Gloucester Township Primary School when he overdosed.
The school nurse performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the boy before the arrival of an ambulance and took him to a local hospital, where he died a week later, on February 1.
Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office coroners determined that the cause of death was fentanyl poisoning.
Noakes is now facing multiple charges, including aggravated manslaughter, endangering a child’s welfare, strict liability for drug-induced death, using a minor in the second degree in a drug distribution scheme, and six counts of the third degree endangering the welfare of a child. , six counts of third-degree witness tampering, and two counts of aggravated third-degree assault.
He also faces ten related charges.
Ex-girlfriend Joanna Johnson is accused of falsifying evidence and preventing police from apprehending Noakes.
The couple were arrested by the US Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and are currently being held at the Camden County Correctional Facility.
Joanna Johnson is accused of tampering with evidence and protecting Knox from arrest.
Fentanyl, which is stronger than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine, causes “certain death” in adults when taken as little as 0.002 grams, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics.
More than 40,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses in 2020.
According to police, Noakes ordered his nephew to clean the lab tools used in the manufacture of the deadly opioid. Witnesses told investigators that he was not wearing gloves.
Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins told NBC Philadelphia: [school] the caretaker, the child’s grandmother, was devastated.
“And now she is losing a family member who will face the criminal justice system for prosecution. But more importantly, she lost her 12-year-old grandson.”
Gloucester Township Public School Superintendent John Bilodeau added that he was “deeply saddened” by the child’s death.
He added that all local students and staff will be offered counseling “during this challenging time.”