Monmouth County Jail a 'drug den,' says lawsuit over mom's fentanyl overdose death

A civil rights lawsuit against the Monmouth County sheriff, the county jail, corrections officers and other staff contends that the jail was an “open and notorious drug market,” placing inmates with substance abuse problems at risk and leading to the overdose death of a 31-year-old mother of two in September 2022.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court Tuesday on behalf of Michelle Trussell, the mother of Jennifer Ross, who died at the jail of a drug overdose on Sept. 20, 2022. Trussell is acting on behalf of Ross’s estate and as the guardian of Ross’s two young sons.

Ross died three days after she was arrested on charges of warrant violations for failing to appear in drug court and Highlands Municipal Court. Morphine and the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl were found in Ross’s system, according to the suit.

The suit names as defendants Monmouth County, Sheriff Shaun Golden, Executive Undersheriff Theoadore Freeman, Warden Victor Iannello, Corrections Officers Dylan J. Connell and Randi Patterson, Licensed Practical Nurse Bonnie McKittrick, and CFG Health Systems, which provided healthcare services to the jail’s detainees.

The complaint claims the sheriff and the people directly under him were aware of rampant drug smuggling, distribution and use inside the jail, but failed to take reasonable steps to protect detainees against it.

Golden, Freeman and Iannello “knew that drugs poured into the facility,” the lawsuit reads.

Golden declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation. A voicemail message left with Monmouth County Counsel Michael D. Fitzgerald was not returned.

When Ross entered the jail, a corrections officer prescribed detoxification drugs after seeing needle marks on her right arm, according to the suit.

But she “was not placed in a sufficiently secure and protective setting or under any special watch to address her medical needs,” the suit reads. “Jennifer was not only housed in the facility with individuals who had known histories of substance use but also in a location where detainees had access to illicit drugs distributed in the facility.”

The lawsuit goes on, "Just as law enforcement or corrections officials would not lock a recovering alcoholic charged with driving under the influence in a bar, (Golden, Freeman and Ianello) should not have incarcerated Jennifer in what was essentially a drug den.”

The suit detailed its claims of drug smuggling, distribution and use inside the county jail:

• Detainees were not adequately searched for drugs when admitted into the jail.

• Drugs were sold or traded inside the jail for money, food and favors.

• Drugs were smuggled into the jail through mail addressed to detainees in envelopes that were literally soaked in drugs that were then smoked by the detainees.

• Detainees arranged to have co-conspirators send contraband to them using what appeared to be a letter from an attorney that allowed detainees to open the envelopes outside the presence of corrections officers.

• Drugs were smuggled into the jail by staff, who then conspired with detainees to distribute them.

More: Monmouth officer who snuck drugs into jail in potato chip bags gets 5 years in prison

The suit also claims that Golden, Freeman and Iannello did not implement New Jersey Department of Corrections policies designed to ensure the safety of detainees and failed to report to the department the death-in-custody of David Egner, 32, who died on April 17, 2022 of an overdose of heroin and fentanyl, the lawsuit charges.

“As a result of the failure to report the death of David Egner, the true extent of the drug problem in the facility was concealed and the NJDOC’s supervisory role was undermined,” the lawsuit reads.

More: Long Branch man charged in overdose death of fellow Monmouth County jail inmate

The three defendants also failed to implement policies and train employees on how to respond to detainees experiencing a drug overdose, the suit charges.

The nurse, McKittrick, administered no more than two doses of Narcan, the opioid antidote naloxone, to Ross when she was suffering the overdose “in violation of CFG’s own protocols, which require that Narcan be repeatedly administered if there is minimal or no response to initial doses,” the suit reads.

Ross’s two sons, born in 2014 and 2017, have experienced behavioral problems and severe emotional distress as a result of losing their mother, the suit says.

The younger son “has struggled with frequent emotional outbursts…and the fear of being alone. Every day, he tells his grandmother how much he misses his mother, and often he cries because of her absence. He frequently calls out to his grandmother in their home to hear her voice -- to assure himself of her presence --and constantly says that he loves her.”

Ken Serrano covers crime, breaking news and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or at kserrano@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth County sheriff, jail sued over mom who died of fentanyl OD