Man Provided Cocaine That Caused Woman's Overdose In Brick, Prosecutor Says

BRICK, NJ — A Brick Township man is accused of selling the drugs that led to the overdose of a Brick Township woman, authorities said.

Roderick J. Seward, 31, was arrested June 17 on charges of strict liability drug-induced death, distribution of cocaine and possession of cocaine in connection with the 27-year-old woman's death on Jan. 26, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Police were called to a Brick home about 9:10 a.m. on Jan. 26 for an unresponsive female and found the woman dead from an apparent drug overdose, authorities said.

Investigators determined Seward had sold her the cocaine, the prosecutor's office said.

A toxicology report confirmed cocaine in the woman's system, and the Ocean County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the cocaine was the cause of her death, the prosecutor's office said.

Seward surrendered to Brick Township police on June 17 and remains in the Ocean County Jail as of Monday.

Seward additionally has been facing weapons charges in connection with a fatal stabbing in Toms River that resulted from a fight between Seward and another man.

Raniek Mendez of Brick died of stab wounds he suffered trying to break up the fight between Seward and Steven I. McNeill on May 9, 2025, at the home on Adams Avenue.

Seward, who was a cousin of the woman McNeill was dating, was stabbed in the face during the fight, the prosecutor's office said at the time.

He was later charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose; investigators determined he had fired a handgun during the fight but no one was injured.

The prosecutor's office Major Crime Unit and Narcotics Strike Force, Brick Township police, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit and the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office combined on the investigation into the woman's overdose.