Christopher Krafsky of Bridgewater Township was sentenced Friday by Superior Court Judge Bruce Jones to 12 years in state prison following a Dec. 10 conviction of being responsible for a drug-induced death, a first-degree crime.
The case goes back to Dec. 24, 2013, when Lisa Johnson found her 22-year-old son, Richard Johnson, dead in the basement of their Hillsborough Township residence at about 6 a.m. Various items of narcotics paraphernalia found near Mr. Johnson at the time of his death suggested that he had died of a heroin overdose, and the cause of death was later confirmed to be heroin toxicity.
An autopsy was conducted at the New Jersey Office of the State Medical Examiner and by a toxicology analysis performed at the State Toxicology Laboratory.
Expert testimony presented at trial showed that Mr. Johnson’s fatal heroin ingestion happened hours before his death.
Hillsborough Township Police Department detectives found text messages on Mr. Johnson’s cell phone, which was in his pocket at the time of his death. The messages revealed that on the evening of Dec. 23, 2013, he had been texting a contact listed as “Mat.” Police said the texts made it apparent to detectives that Mr. Johnson was trying to meet “Mat” that night and he was asking “Mat” to sell him narcotics. The press release said it was also apparent to law enforcement that “Mat,” in response, agreed to sell Mr. Johnson drugs.
where “Mat” communicated the price of the drugs and a quantity. Police said cell phone subscriber information for “Mat” showed it was registered to a post office box in California under the name Christopher Krafsky. Investigation found a 33-year-old man with that name lived on Garretson Road in Bridgewater Township.
In January 2014, a Hillsborough Township detective met Mr. Krafsky at the Bridgewater Mall. The detective told Mr. Krafsky that he was investigating the death of Richard Johnson. Police said Mr. Krafsky did not know Mr. Johnson by name, but recognized a picture of him and admitted that he sold Mr. Johnson three bags of heroin for $15 per bag on the night of Dec. 23 in Somerville.
Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano said the conviction was Mr. Krafsky’s sixth indictable conviction and that he was on probation for possession with intent to distribute when he committed this crime.
Mr. Krafsky must serve 85 percent of the 12-year sentence in the New Jersey State Prison before being eligible for parole.
The state’s case was argued by Assistant Prosecutor Merrill Mezzacappa.
