ARREST OF DEALER IN OCEAN COUNTY OVERDOSE DEATH
Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato, Ocean Township Acting Police Commander Lt. George M. Thompson and Berkeley Township Police Chief Karin DiMichele today announced the arrest of Louis Edward Ardise, 25, of Frederick Drive, Bayville, NJ in connection with the drug induced death of Victoria Maulback, 22, of Waretown
“The 157 drug overdose deaths to date in Ocean County have strengthened my resolve to hold dealers accountable for each tragic death,” said Prosecutor Coronato. “In Ocean County, 72 percent of the heroin tested by officials this year contained fentanyl. These callous dealers have brought a “Synthetic Storm” of deaths to Ocean County that is spiraling out of control. We must do all we can to send a strong message that Ocean County is a “No Dealer Zone”, while helping to bring some measure of closure to those who have tragically lost their loved ones to these Harbingers of Death.”
Ardise was taken into custody at his residence in Bayville at 10:20 am on Friday (11/18) and is being held in the Ocean County Jail on $350,000 cash bail set by the Honorable Judge Wendel Daniels, P.J.Cr.P. Ardise is charged with Strict Liability for Drug-Induced Death, Manslaughter, Possession of Fentanyl, Possession with the Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and Distribution of Fentanyl.
Louis Edward Ardise’s arrest stems from an investigation which began on October 12, 2016, at approximately 4:46 am, when Ocean Township Police Officers were called to Victoria Maulback’s Skipper’s Boulevard home in Waretown. Arriving officers and medical personal found Maulback unresponsive and ultimately pronounced her deceased at 4:54 am. Officers on scene, observing signs of a drug overdose, immediately, per the Prosecutor’s directive, contacted the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Major Crimes Unit and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Unit to respond. The ensuing intensive investigation would ultimately lead back to Ardise and link him to Victoria’s overdose death.
The Major Crimes Unit and the Special Operations Group of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, the Ocean Township Police Department and Berkeley Township Police Departments, all contributed to the investigation culminating in the arrest of Ardise.
The media and public are reminded that criminal charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
LOUIS EDWARD ARDISE
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