Stop & Shop supermarkets offered "full support" to the Point Pleasant Boro location, about a mile from the Brick border, after a 42-year-old heroin overdose victim was found dead in January in the store's bathroom, the company said in a statement this week.
The company was responding to a story posted by Point Pleasant Patch Thursday that cited the case as a symbol of a growing heroin-abuse epidemic in New Jersey elsewhere.
Arlene Putterman, a spokeswoman for Stop & Shop, said the company was
"very saddened by this incident and cooperated fully with law enforcement authorities on their investigation."
"We offered full support to the store and its associates," she said.
The crime scene unit was called in the early morning hours to "clean up and sanitize the public restroom" before the store opened in the morning, she said.
"We applauded the swift efforts of store management in notifying law enforcement after store hours," she said.
On Jan. 10, police discovered the Jersey City man, who had suspected heroin and five additional wax folds stamped “Bud Light” in red in his possession. He was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato.
Coronato warned that this overdose may have been caused by a batch of heroin that included toxic elements which prove fatal without medical attention.
He said the same heroin was likely used a day later, when Seaside Heights Police were called to a Blaine Avenue residence and found a 32-year-old local man dead in the bathroom.
In that case, investigators also found wax folds at the residence stamped “Bud Light” in red, containing suspected heroin. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Anyone with information on individuals selling the “Bud Light” heroin stamp or with information on possible dealers should contact: the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Special Operations Group at (732) 929-2027 ext. 3235.
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