Police arrested 31 people in the city’s weekly drug sweep and seized almost $9,000 in suspected drug money, according to police.
103 baggies of marijuana, half-pound of marijuana, 34 glassines of heroin, 43 baggies of crack-cocaine, 10 baggies of cocaine, 5 grams of powdered cocaine, 56 Acetaminophen/Tramadol pills, and 1 PCP dipped cigarette was seized in the sweep from August 23rd through 29th, 2016.
Police arrested city residents Rolando A. Martinez, 22, of 20th Avenue; Devry Tavarez, 22, of Walnut Street; David Perez, 27, of Sussex Street; Shadee M. Hill, 29, of Dixon Avenue; Angel R. Vargas, 27, of Union Avenue; Jennifer T. Graham, also known as Valentina, 33, of Park Avenue; Christopher L. Hill, 21, of East 18th Street; Jay Polanco, 25, of 20th Avenue; Rolando Espinal, 22, of 20th Avenue; Jairo Minaya, 20, of East 22nd Street; Christopher J. Kamna, 26, of East 22nd Street; Jerry Norman Jr., 31, of North 2nd Street; Joseph Pryor, 56, of East 23rd Street; Tariq R. Holly aka “Riq,” 24, of Pearl Street; Nelse A. Batista, 27, of Straight Street; Mikia A. Washington, 23, of Madison Street; Christian X. Nieves, 23, of East 12th Street; Edwin Santiago aka “Eloe,” 47, of Martin Street; Victor J. Morales, 33, of East 28th Street; David E. Jackson, 36, of Market Street; and Shaquan Winstead, 22, of Madison Street.
Also arrested were Horace B. Brackett, 44, of Hackensack; Brittney R. Cook, 23, of West Caldwell; Jamie L. Borelli, 33, Hackettstown; Joe E. Rich, 36, of Morris Plains; Mario Vargas-Brenes aka “AD,” 50, of Clifton; Vincente A. Calvo, 30, of Bloomfield; Kessler Wooley, 24, of East Orange; Merson Ebie, 26, of North Riverside, Ill.; Kelvin Rojas, 29, of Lodi; and Roberto Arias, 21, of Haledon.
Martinez, Tavarez, and Perez were arrested on August 23rd, 2016 at 21st Avenue and East 22nd Street.
Martinez was charged with having 2 baggies of marijuana. Police charged Tavarez and Perez with having 6 baggies of cocaine and 8 baggies of marijuana. Perez was also charged with having drug paraphernalia.
$1,112 in suspected drug money was taken from Tavarez. $348 was taken from Perez.
Shadee M. Hill was caught with half-pound of marijuana and $1,622 in suspected drug money at 162 Dixon Avenue on the same day, said police.
Vargas was charged with having 6 grams of powdered cocaine, 56 Acetominophen/Tramadol pills, and drug paraphernalia at Grand Street and Railroad Avenue.
$1,075 was taken from Vargas.
Brackett, Graham, and Christopher L. Hill were arrested at 788 East 18th Street on August 24th, 2016.
Christopher L. Hill allegedly had 3 baggies of crack-cocaine, 14 glassine of heroin, and drug paraphernalia. He allegedly sold 2 baggies of crack cocaine and 14 glassines of heroin to Graham and Brackett.
Graham and Brackett were charged with drug possession.
Police seized $150 in suspected drug money from Christopher L. Hill.
Polanco, Espinal, and Minaya were arrested at 80 Pennington Street on the same day. Police charged Polanco and Espinal with having 4 baggies of powdered cocaine.
Minaya was charged with having 50 purple plastic baggies of marijuana.
Kamna, Cook, and Norman were arrested on August 25th, 2016 at 264 Rosa Parks Boulevard. Police charged Kamna and Cook with loitering to commit a drug offense.
Norman was charged with having 3 baggies of marijuana, said police.
Pryor was charged with having 15 baggies of crack-cocaine and $181 in suspected drug money on East 24th Street and 15th Avenue.
Police arrested Borelli and Rich with 16 glassines of heroin and 2 plastic baggies of crack-cocaine at Paterson Street and Memorial Drive.
Holly was caught with a PCP dipped cigarette and drug paraphernalia on Carroll and Pearl Streets. $3,460 in suspected drug money was seized from him, said police.
On August 29th, 2016, police arrested Vargas-Brenes, Calvo, Batista, Washington, Wooley, Ebie, Nieves, Rojas, Santiago, Arias, Morales, Jackson, and Winstead were arrested at Essex and Madison Streets.
Vargas-Brenes was arrested on an outstanding National Crime Information Center (NCIC) warrant, said police. Calvo, Ebie, and Batista were charged with having 2 baggies of marijuana.
Washington, Nieves, Rojas, Santiago, and Wooley were charged with having 1 baggie of marijuana.
Morales was charged with having 8 baggies of marijuana. He allegedly sold 2 baggies of marijuana to Jackson and Ebie.
$87 in drug money was seized from Morales.
Jackson was charged with having 2 baggies of marijuana, 23 baggies of crack-cocaine, and 4 glassines of heroin.
$288 in drug money was seized from Jackson.
Winstead allegedly had 23 baggies of marijuana. He allegedly sold 1 baggie to Wooley and Washington. Police said he also sold 2 baggies to Calvo and Batista.
Police said Winstead also had drug paraphernalia in his possession. $672 in drug money was seized from him.
“The narcotics division has increased its efforts and is targeting all illegal drug activity affecting the illegal drugs in our city,” said police director Jerry Speziale.