A Greenville man has been charged with selling fentanyl that led to the overdose death of a 30-year-old woman.

Mark McCreery, 42, of Greenville, was arrested on Oct. 28 by the Milford Police Department and charged with one count of sale of a controlled drug with a death resulting, according to a press release issued by the Milford police on Monday.

Sale of a controlled drug that resulted in a death is a special felony, which could result in penalties up to life in prison.

The charge relates to an investigation conducted by Milford police in August, relating to the overdose death of a woman. During the course of the investigation, police determined that McCreery allegedly provided Cassandra Jarest, 30, with a quantity of fentanyl shortly before her fatal overdose.

McCreery was held in preventative detention, and arraigned at the Hillsborough Superior Court, South, on Monday.

According to an affidavit filed with the Hillsborough Superior Court by Milford Police Department officer Daniel Campbell, on Aug. 22, Milford police, fire and ambulance responded to Nashua Street for a medical call for a woman who was unconscious and not breathing. Responders attempted CPR and other life-saving measures, but were unsuccessful. The cause of death was fentanyl toxicity, according to the cause-of-death report received by police.

According to the affidavit, Jarest showed signs of intravenous drug use, but no drugs were located during a search of the residence. During a search of the her phone, police allegedly found a text thread with a “Marcus Anthony” with conversations about drug use and securing drugs.

The texts allegedly indicated that the contact had drugs and “it waayyy better than b4,” and warned the woman, “this stuff is like really strong u gotta be careful for real.”

Police also found a message thread between Jarest and “Marcus Anthony” on Facebook, which allegedly indicated he had sold her drugs on Aug. 4. According to the affidavit, Jarest overdosed at her residence on Aug. 5, but was revived by emergency personnel.

Police could not find any record of a “Marcus Anthony” with details matching the Facebook page, but using the photo on the page, the Manchester Police Department identified the man as McCreery.

According to the affidavit, while police were processing Jarest’s phone, messages allegedly continued to come in from “Marcus Anthony,” primarily by Facebook Messenger, regarding McCreery bringing her another gram of fentanyl and paying back $30 he owed her.

The Milford Police Department, while surveying a residence with known drug users, allegedly saw McCreery exit the building and get into a vehicle with a passenger. The vehicle was stopped for a motor vehicle infraction, and police made contact with McCreery. Based on the investigation into the death of Jarest, his phone was seized with the purpose to pursue a search warrant, which was granted by Judge David Ruoff on Aug. 26.

Police were allegedly able to confirm that the phone seized by police was the same number that had messaged Jarest about a drug exchange, and that he had made multiple calls to the woman’s phone, on Aug. 4, Aug. 15, Aug. 18, and Aug. 21.

According to the affidavit, there were no other messages or contacts in the Jarest’s phone that related to drug sales or drug use.

McCreery is scheduled for a dispositional conference at the Hillsborough Superior Court, South, on Jan. 5.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.

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