Massachusetts man held on bail on manslaughter charges after overdose death

BROCKTON – A Dorchester man is being held on bail after he was arraigned on charges that he supplied an overdose victim with a fatal amount of Fentanyl, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has announced.

Friday, William Marcel McNeill, 34, of Dorchester, was arraigned in Brockton Superior Court on one count each of Manslaughter and Unlawful Distribution of a Class A Substance, Fentanyl. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and bail was set at $200,000 cash.

On January 28, 2019, Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office assisted Plymouth Police with a drug overdose death investigation involving a 23 year-old female living in a residential rehabilitation facility.

Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office conducted a lengthy, comprehensive investigation. As a result of the investigation, police determined that McNeill was the person who had provided the victim with a quantity of Fentanyl. Text messages obtained as part of the investigation between McNeill and the victim show McNeill warning the victim that the product was lethal and to be careful with its use.

On September 11, 2020, a Plymouth County Grand Jury voted to indict McNeill and Massachusetts State Police sought and obtained an arrest warrant. McNeill informed the Massachusetts State Police that he would surrender himself the following Monday, September 14, 2020. McNeill did not appear. Since that day, Massachusetts State Police and Boston Police have been actively seeking McNeill. Boston Police located McNeill yesterday morning, and he was placed under arrest.