NEW ORLEANS — In one of the first cases of its kind, a drug dealer has been convicted of murder because one of their customers died of a drug overdose, officials said.
Joseph Laue, 39, was convicted of second-degree murder Thursday in St. Tammany Parish.
A Slidell Police investigation into the overdose death of Albert Morant, 24, in 2015 lead authorities to Morant's dealer, who they later identified as Laue.
Laue was selling heroin in his neighborhood in Slidell so often that police would see him selling drugs every time they were in the neighborhood for surveillance.
Undercover officers saw Laue personally selling heroin to more than one person on more than two occasions, police said.
"This case demonstrates all aspects of the heroin epidemic that is sweeping the nation," a statement from the 22nd Judicial District Attorney said.
The conviction comes as a new state law allows prosecutors to charge drug dealers with murder for the overdose deaths of their customers.
Facing mandatory life imprisonment, Laue's sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 9.
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