CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — A man at the top of the Lower Allen Township Police Department's most wanted list for allegedly selling fentanyl-laced pills to a teenager, who overdosed and died, has been arrested.
The Cumberland County police department issued an arrest warrant for Major Mahari Winfield Defreitas after an investigation that began on Oct. 11, 2023, when officers were called to a home in the 3900 block of Rosemont Avenue for a suspected overdose.
Despite attempted life-saving measures, the 16-year-old boy was declared dead at the scene. Police say a preliminary blood test administered by the coroner resulted in a presumptive positive test for marijuana and fentanyl in the victim's blood. His cause of death was ruled acute fentanyl toxicity.
Police allegedly investigated phone and social media records to determine that Defreitas had been talking to the victim about selling him three blue pills. They also found surveillance video of the victim meeting someone driving a dark-colored Nissan Murano on the night of the 10th, which they connected to Defreitas through a past traffic citation he received while operating a Nissan Murano.
Lab results also allegedly indicated that a blue pill recovered at the scene contained fentanyl.
According to the Lower Allen Township Police Department, on Feb. 16, officers arrested Defreitas. He was charged with drug delivery resulting in death and possession with intent to deliver.
