A heroin dealer had his case bound over to the Grand Jury after General Sessions Court Judge Gary Starnes found probable cause that his heroin had caused Mark Elliott’s drug overdose death. Joshua Johnson, 48, is charged with second-degree murder.
Charges were also bound over against co-defendant Nicole Cimini, who is also charged with second-degree murder, as well as Milton Patrick and Jeffrey Scealf, who are charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin.
An investigator said when he arrived, Ms. Cimini told him that the two of them had shot up heroin and that Elliott had "turned blue” and then died.
She attempted to revive him using Narcan, but her attempts were unsuccessful and Elliott passed away. She also said that Elliott had never used heroin before, and that his preferred drug was cocaine.
The investigator said he then spoke to Joshua Johnson, who admitted to selling one point of heroin to Ms. Cimini. Co-defendants Milton Patrick and Jeffrey Scealf were present and told investigators they also had bought heroin from Johnson.
When pressed by Johnson’s attorney, Rebecca Stern, about the cause of death, the investigator said, “I can’t prove that (drugs) did it any more than you can prove it didn’t.”
“Well, the burden of proof isn’t on me, is it,” said attorney Stern.
Prosecutor Miriam Johnson said Elliott died almost immediately after injecting some of Johnson’s heroin, while attorney Stern said that Elliott and Ms. Cimini had only bought a single point from Johnson.
There was another half-point of heroin used, and there was no way for the prosecution to know where that heroin had come from, it was argued. Prosecutor Johnson turned the court’s attention to the fact that Ms. Cimini allegedly said the heroin Elliott had overdosed from came directly from the amount purchased from Johnson.
The incident happened last Dec. 2 at 1949 Northpoint Blvd., Apt. 132.