The first criminal case in this province to hold an alleged drug pusher responsible for an overdose death was back before a judge this morning.
A family member wears a Justice for Axel Martin at a rally outside Confederation Building (VOCM News)
Nineteen-year-old Zack Mulrooney was charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death, drug possession and trafficking after 14-year-old Axel Martin died in March.
He had consumed a disguised and deadly mix of synthetic opioids that he thought were Xanax and Dilaudid pills.
The investigation led police to a St. John’s home where they seized cocaine, ketamine and phenazolam, followed by the arrest and charges against Mulrooney, who remains free on conditions.
But it’s been slow moving through the courts given the thousands of pages of evidence coming from both the federal and provincial Crown, most of it heavily redacted, much to the chagrin of defence lawyer Jonathan Regan.
He said he hoped that could be resolved with the unsealing of police warrants in the case.
With that, Judge Paul Noble set the matter for case management next week to give all parties a chance to “drill into that,” and streamline other issues ahead of entering pleas and a potential trial.
