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Dorchester Man Arraigned On Manslaughter Charge In Connection With Fatal Overdose



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Contact: Beth Stone 508-584-8120

BROCKTON – A Dorchester man is being held on bail after he was arraigned on  charges that he supplied an overdose victim with a fatal amount of Fentanyl, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has announced.

William Marcel McNeill, 34, of Dorchester, was arraigned in Brockton Superior Court on one count each of Manslaughter and Unlawful Distribution of a Class A Substance, Fentanyl. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and bail was set at $200,000 cash.

On January 28, 2019, Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office assisted Plymouth Police with a drug overdose death investigation involving a 23 year-old female living in a residential rehabilitation facility.

Massachusetts State Police Detectives and Plymouth Police conducted a lengthy, comprehensive investigation. The victim’s cell phone was secured as evidence, and police determined that suspected heroin and Fentanyl were being distributed using two target cell phone numbers that the victim had called. Through phone records, Massachusetts State Police were able to connect the phone to McNeill and his Dorchester address. State Police contacted McNeill through the cell phone, met with him and purchased a quantity of heroin/Fentanyl. Additionally, text messages obtained as part of the investigation between McNeill and the victim show McNeill warning the victim that the product is lethal and to be careful with its use.

On September 11, 2020, a Plymouth County Grand Jury voted to indict McNeill and Massachusetts State Police sought and obtained an arrest warrant. An attorney contacted State Police on behalf of McNeill and said that McNeill would surrender himself the following Monday, September 14, 2019. McNeill did not appear. Since that day, Massachusetts State Police and Boston Police have been actively seeking McNeill. Boston Police located him last night, and he was placed under arrest.

McNeill is scheduled to be back in court on July 7.

MAY 8, 2021