An Egg Harbor Township man is jailed in a deadly drug sale that left two teens dead.
The boys, ages 17 and 14, thought they were buying Percocets but instead were sold counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and other drugs, according to Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
Elias Santiago, whose last name is also listed as Santiago-Vera and Santiago-Vega, is charged with two counts of strict liability drug-induced death, a first-degree crime that carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison.
The teens were found unresponsive in the 14-year-old's bedroom Aug. 17, by his father in their Landenberg, Pa., home, according to the indictment. The 17-year-old, an Ocean City High School senior identified only as M.M., was in the upper bunk, while the younger boy, identified as A.P., was in the lower bunk.
They were pronounced dead at a Delaware hospital.
A.P.'s father found the older boy's bookbag, which contained two blue packages marked Gelatti, according to the indictment. One had 17 green pills marked as Xanax, while the other had 18 round white pills marked as Oxycodone.
But when the white pills were tested, it was found they were a mixture of fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to the report.
“The defendant callously passed off powerful, illegal drugs as legitimate prescription medication, directly resulting in the overdose deaths of two teenagers,” Platkin said. “This kind of reckless disregard for public safety will not go unpunished. We will continue to work collaboratively with our law enforcement partners in Pennsylvania and elsewhere to hold drug dealers accountable.”
Santiago's residence was searched Sept. 7, and numerous drugs were allegedly recovered, including pills marked oxycodone that tested positive for xylazine, a veterinary drug used as a sedative/anesthesia for horses and cows. They also recovered the same type of bright-blue bags marked Gelatti that were used to package the counterfeit pills recovered from M.M.’s bookbag.
He allegedly operated a Telegram messenger group called "BaldysRUS," which showed pictures, videos and different prices for controlled dangerous substances for sale.
Santiago, 25, was indicted March 15, but fled to Mexico, where he was a fugitive until he surrendered to authorities in Texas on March 31, Platkin said. He has since been extradited to New Jersey and is in the Atlantic County Justice Facility, where he was ordered held following a detention hearing.
The indictment details three purchases M.M. made from Santiago via Telegram between Aug. 15 and Aug. 16, totaling $955 paid via CashApp, which included delivery fees.
The first two deliveries were made to M.M.'s Sea Isle City home, the indictment states. The third was to the home of a friend in Ocean Grove.
M.M. then drove to A.P.'s home the night of Aug. 16. The two messaged through Snapchat, with M.M. confirming he was on his way with the drugs, according to the indictment.
“Santiago and drug dealers like him prey upon some of the most vulnerable victims in an attempt to profit from the sale of illegal narcotics which demonstrates their heartless disregard for the lives they destroy," said Colonel Patrick Callahan, superintendent of the N.J. State Police. “The relationships we share with our law enforcement partners extend beyond the borders of New Jersey. The collaboration of multiple agencies that resulted in this indictment is indicative of our commitment to holding these criminals accountable for their actions and bringing justice to the family of the victims.”
The teen's names were not released publicly, but BreakingAC confirmed some details through their obituaries.
M.M. was raised in Bergen Count before his family moved to Sea Isle in 2020. He was preparing to graduate Ocean City High School in June.
A.P. was a freshman as part of the Class of 2026, and did a lot of traveling. He recently started playing the guitar and was starting a band with his friends.
“Our zero-tolerance approach toward illegal drugs and the criminals who sell them to our youth goes beyond the boundaries of state lines,” said Colonel Christopher Paris, commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police. “We are thankful for the law enforcement partners who share our commitment to justice in these cases.”
Division of Criminal Justice Director Pearl Minato agreed.
“We are working closely with law enforcement partners across the state and beyond to hold drug dealers liable when the dangerous narcotics they traffic cause overdose deaths,” she said. “New Jersey’s strict-liability statute is especially applicable in cases where drug dealers profit from pushing lethal pills disguised as legitimate medications to unsuspecting buyers, with tragic results.”
Santiago is also charged with two counts of distribution of imitation CDS, along with possession, three counts of distribution, and possession with intent to distribute imitation CDS. They are all third-degree charges
Platkin commended all of the attorneys, officers, investigators and detectives who investigated the case for the New Jersey State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, and the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice.
He also thanked the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office and the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance.
In addition to carrying a sentence of 10-20 years in state prison, the first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death charges each carry a fine of as much as $200,000 and a mandatory period of parole ineligibility equal to 85 percent of the sentence imposed. Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of as much as $15,000.
As part of the Comprehensive Drug Reform Act of 1987, New Jersey enacted a provision making it a first-degree crime to unlawfully distribute a controlled dangerous substance that results in death. The statute prescribes strict liability, and it is no defense that the drug user contributed to his or her own death by voluntarily ingesting the substance that caused death. The statute applies to every person along the drug distribution chain, not just the dealer who may have personally interacted with the decedent.
