CLINTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Hunterdon County) — A Paterson woman was sentenced Friday to seven years in New Jersey State Prison for supplying narcotics that caused the fatal overdose of a Clinton Township man, the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office announced.
Superior Court Judge Christopher J. Garrenger sentenced Shaneshea M. Cooper, 29, on July 10 to a seven-year prison term subject to the No Early Release Act. Under the sentence, Cooper must serve five years, 11 months and 16 days before becoming eligible for parole, followed by three years of parole supervision upon her release.
Cooper pleaded guilty on May 1 to second-degree reckless manslaughter.
The conviction stemmed from a joint investigation by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force and the Clinton Township Police Department.
According to authorities, Clinton Township police responded on July 24, 2025, to a residence in the Annandale section of Clinton Township for a report of an unconscious Joseph S. Callari, 22. Callari was pronounced dead at the scene, and investigators recovered drug paraphernalia indicating fentanyl use. The Hunterdon County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death was acute fentanyl toxicity.
Investigators determined that Cooper distributed narcotics to Callari in Paterson several days before his death. After returning to Annandale, Callari ingested the drugs, which proved fatal, prosecutors said.
Cooper was arrested on Oct. 1, 2025, by Clinton Township police officers and detectives from the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office. She was initially charged with first-degree strict liability for a drug-induced death and third-degree conspiracy to distribute fentanyl before later pleading guilty to reckless manslaughter.
