'New breed of Percocet' causing overdoses, accused drug dealer told police

A Fredericton manon trial for drug trafficking in connection with a pill containing fentanyl that was found in Esgenopetitj First Nation last spring told police a "new breed of Percocet" was causing people to overdose, the courtroom heard Thursday.

Jesse Joe, 35, admitted during astatement to police that he'd beenin possession of bluePercocetpills, saidCrown prosecutor CarolineLirette.

Joe told RCMPhe returned to his home community of Esgenopetitjon April 8, and four people "dropped" after he got back,saidLirette.

On April 11, a woman suffered a fatal overdose in the communityeast of Miramichi.

• Man on trial for allegedly selling drugs in Esgenopetitj faces 7 new charges
• Man charged in connection with fentanyl at Esgenopetitj denied bail

Police laterseized a bluepill that had "Percocet5"written on it, but have not yet explained how or from where they obtained it.

AHealth Canada analysis confirmed the pill containedfentanyl,a prescription painkiller the agency has described as being about 100 times more powerful than morphine.

When Joe was charged, police saidseveral people fromEsgenopetitjhad beenhospitalizedfor suspected overdoses offentanyl.

Policewere still awaitingtoxicologyresults in the fatal overdose on April 11 of Ann Marie Lambert,the 35-year-old mother of a young son, they said at the time.

Joe'sstatementto police was admitted into evidence on Thursday morning, the second day of his judge-only trial at Miramichi provincial court.

Judge GeriMahoneyruled following a voirdire that the statement wasadmissible. Police neither threatened him to get thestatement, nor made promises of a reduced sentence, the judge said.

The trial was scheduled to continue on Aug. 30 and 31, but wrapped up on Thursday.

A date for a decision will be set on Aug. 30 at 9:30 a.m.

Joeis also scheduled tofacea bail hearing on Aug. 30 at 3 p.m. on seven new charges. They include trafficking infentanyl, criminal negligence causing bodily harm,three counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, as well as obstruction of justice and breach of probation.

The Crownhas declined to comment on whether those charges are related to the overdoses inEsgenopetitj.

On Wednesday, the trial heard from Ethan Mitchell, 21, who said he purchased nine round blue pills marked "Percocet" from Joe in Aprilfor $60.

You couldn't talk about a lethal dose of Percocet.- Marc Fortin, RCMP drug expert

Mitchell's cousin, Vincent Lambert, 56, testified to overdosing from taking one and a half of those pills.

RCMPdrug expert Sgt. Marc Fortintold the court Thursday that would be highly unlikely if the pills were indeed Percocet a prescription drug containing a low dose of Oxycontin and mostly acetaminophen.

The Crown asked Fortin how much Percocet it would take for someone to die.

"You couldn't talk about a lethal dose of Percocet," he replied.

But the problem, he said,is that unless a pill isanalyzed by a lab, there's no way to know for sure what's in it. That's a real concern for police, said Fortin, because people with addictions are buying pills and consuming them without really knowing what they contain.

None of the pills Joe allegedly sold were ever recovered.

Liretteacknowledged during her closing arguments her evidence against Joe is mostly circumstantial.

A 60-year-old man fromEsgenopetitjFirst Nation, on Miramichi Bay, was also arrested in connection with the case but wasreleased pending a later court appearance.