Man Indicted for OD Death at Oxford House

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FREEHOLD – A Monmouth County grand jury has returned a 2-count indictment charging an Avon-By-The-Sea man in connection with the October 2013 overdose death of 25-year-old Christopher L. Pesce at Oxford House, a Rumson-based alcohol and drug addiction recovery house, announced Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni today.
Michael Renna, 26 of Sylvania Avenue, Avon-by-the-Sea, is charged with one count of first degree Strict Liability for Drug Induced Deaths and one count of third degree Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance.
If convicted of Strict Liability for Drug Induced Deaths, Renna faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in a New Jersey state prison, subject to the provisions of the “No Early Release Act” (NERA), requiring him to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for parole.  If convicted of Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, he faces a maximum of five years in state prison. 
Rumson police were dispatched at approximately 8:15 p.m., on Oct. 13, 2013, to Oxford House, located at 61 South Ward Avenue within the borough, where they located the deceased victim.  Rumson police immediately launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death. The investigation and subsequent post-mortem examination concluded Pesce’s death was caused by acute heroin toxicity.  Rumson police, in conjunction with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, continued the investigation and alleged the victim obtained the fatal doses of heroin from Renna, an acquaintance, in Asbury Park on the night of October 12, 2013.
As a result of the investigation, Renna was charged on August 22, 2014 with one count of Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance as well as one count of Strict Liability for Drug Induced Deaths.
Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Honora O’Brien Kilgallen, J.S.C. set Renna’s bail at $200,000, no 10 percent. Bail was posted on August 25, 2014.  Renna remains free on bail.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Christopher J. Decker, Director of the Office’s Major Crimes Bureau.  Renna is represented by Mitchell J. Ansell, Esq. and Robert A. Honecker, Jr., Esq., both of Ocean Township.