United States Drug Enforcement Administration

AUG 25 - CONCORD, N.H. - Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and United States Attorney, Emily Gray Rice announced that Jazzmyn Rood, 42, of Gonic, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony in connection with the distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death of Evangelique Tarmey.

According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements in the plea proceeding, the defendant was staying at the Riviera Motel with her boyfriend Mark Ross and Tarmey in October 2015.  On October 16, 2015 Ross traveled with Tarmey and another individual to Lawrence, Massachusetts in order to obtain a quantity of heroin.  Ross returned to the Riviera Motel and injected Rood with the drug and then injected himself with the drug.  Ross provided a quantity of the drug to Tarmey and told Rood he had done so.   The following morning, Tarmey was found dead in the motel room.  The New Hampshire Medical Examiner later found that Ms. Tarmey died of acute fentanyl intoxication.  The Rochester Police responded to the motel on the morning of October 17, 2015.  Rood was interviewed by the police and denied that Ross or she had used any controlled substance the evening before.  United States District Judge Paul Barbadoro scheduled the defendant’s sentencing for December 1, 2016.

New Hampshire has the third-highest rate of per capita drug overdose deaths in the United States.  More than half of the drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire in 2015 were the result of fentanyl, either alone or in combination with other drugs.  United States Attorney Rice said, “I want to thank the Rochester Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their work on this case.  Fighting the opioid epidemic is a multi-pronged, team effort.  One facet of our attack is to prosecute those who are criminally responsible for causing drug overdoses.   We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute the individuals who distribute drugs that cause overdose deaths.  Any drug distribution has the potential to be deadly, regardless of the quantity of drugs involved.  When a drug distribution causes an overdose death, my office will seek to hold the distributor accountable.”

In April 2016, the United States Attorney’s Office and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office announced the formation of an inter-office team of prosecutors who will work together to prosecute individuals who cause opiate overdoses in New Hampshire.  This prosecution, initiated before the creation of the joint team, is an example of the type of case that will be generated by the team.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Rochester Police Department.