EHT man denies selling drugs that killed 27-year-old

Daniel Parrish admits he’s a drug addict. He also admits he sold drugs at one time. But, the Egg Harbor Township man denies he knew Joseph Robinson, the man whose death he is accused of causing by selling him a deadly mix of heroin and fentanyl. Parrish, 42, is on trial for strict liability homicide. The statute has been on the books for years, holding responsible those who provide drugs that result in a death. He is the first to go on trial in Atlantic County since Prosecutor Damon Tyner started the Drug Related Death Squad 14 months ago. Since then, 14 people have been charged under the statute. Two have pleaded guilty, including Philip Eldred, who was sentenced last week to seven years in prison. “Honestly, if I knew Joseph Robinson, or I sold him any drugs, I would not be here on the stand,” Parrish said, as he testified at his trial Thursday. An admitted long-time drug user, he said he has pleaded guilty to crimes he’s committed. This one, however, he said is not something he did. “I didn’t know what fentanyl was,” Parrish testified. “I still don’t know exactly what it is. I thought it was horse tranquilizer.” Robinson’s friend, Mike Reed, testified earlier this week that Parrish — who he knew as “D” — often sold him drugs. He even made two purchases from Parrish as a confidential informant for the Egg Harbor Township police. But Parrish said he hasn’t dealt drugs since his 2012 arrest. He had been out of prison just 10 months when he was arrested three days after Robinson’s Dec. 10, 2016, death. [video width="720" height="480" mp4="https://accessglobal.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/breakingac/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/parrish.mp4"][/video] There were 178 bags of heroin at his home that had the same stamp as the empty bags found by Robinson’s body inside the township home he shared with his grandfather. Parrish said in his time home from prison he had started using heroin again but he had not started selling. “I didn’t have time for that,” he said. “I’m an old man.” He had a job while he and his brother would take turns purchasing large amounts of heroin for their own use. He said he did give Reed some drugs in exchange for cutting his grass. “But someone was dealing drugs out of your home, right?” McKelvey asked him. “I feel like I’m incriminating…,” he said, trailing off. “I can’t answer that.” When asked where he got his drugs, Parrish hesitated, saying he didn’t want to name anyone. He eventually just answered, “a drug dealer.” Closing arguments are set for Friday morning before Superior Court Judge Donna Taylor. The trial has lasted a week.