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TRENTON - Five men were
indicted today for allegedly conspiring
to buy and sell large quantities of marijuana
and cocaine in South Jersey.
The charges resulted from
a cooperative investigation by the New Jersey
State Police and the Pennsylvania State
Police into alleged interstate smuggling
of drugs that led to the seizure of 63 pounds
of marijuana last year. The investigation
revealed that Joel G. Juarez, 40, aka Enrique
H. Penna, of Pilesgrove, allegedly ran a
drug distribution ring based in Atlantic
and Salem counties that transported illegal
drugs via a network of migrant farm labor
camps.
According to Division of
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw,
the Division of Criminal Justice today obtained
a state grand jury indictment charging Juarez,
his alleged partner, Damian Constantino,
43, aka Damian Garcia, of Pilesgrove, and
his son, Baltazar G. Constantino, 22, also
of Pilesgrove, with first-degree possession
of marijuana with intent to distribute and
other charges. The first-degree charge carries
a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison
and a fine of $300,000 upon conviction.
Juarez and Damian Constantino
were arrested by the New Jersey State Police
on the evening of July 13, 2007 at the Budget
Motel on East Black Horse Pike in Folsom.
They allegedly had 59 pounds of marijuana
in their possession that they intended to
sell. Baltazar Constantino was arrested
at the same time at his father’s store,
Las Delicias Food Market on Central Avenue
in Hammonton, where he, his father and Juarez
allegedly were involved earlier that day
in loading containers of marijuana into
vehicles at the rear of the store.
Two additional men were
arrested at the motel that day and are named
in today’s indictment. Leonardo R.
DeJesus, 30, of Long Branch, and his brother
Luis A. DeJesus, 29, of Lawrence, Mass.,
allegedly went to the motel to buy 10 kilograms
of cocaine from a man not named in the indictment.
The purchase allegedly was arranged by Juarez
and the Constantinos. The DeJesus brothers
allegedly had $47,000 in their possession
for the purchase.
“This is an excellent
example of cooperation between law enforcement
agencies to take down a drug operation that
crossed state lines,” said First Assistant
Attorney General John Vazquez. “I
commend the New Jersey State Police, the
Pennsylvania State Police, and the New Jersey
Division of Criminal Justice for their outstanding
work in this case.”
At
the time of the arrests, search warrants
were also executed by New Jersey State Police
TEAMS (Technical Emergency and Mission Specialists)
Units at Las Delicias, where they allegedly
recovered 3 pounds of marijuana and a digital
scale, and at the farm labor camp where
Juarez lived at 1423 Kings Highway, where
they allegedly recovered one-half pound
of marijuana and 14 marijuana plants.
The case was investigated
by the New Jersey State Police Organized
Crime Control Bureau - Drug Trafficking
South Unit and the Pennsylvania State Police
Vice Unit - Troop J. It was presented to
the state grand jury by Deputy Attorney
General Philip S. Aronow of the Division
of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized
Crime Bureau.
In addition to the first-degree
marijuana charge, the seven-count state
grand jury indictment also charges Juarez,
Damian Constantino and Baltazar Constantino
with second-degree conspiracy to possess
and distribute marijuana and cocaine, second-degree
attempted possession of cocaine with intent
to distribute, and third-degree possession
of marijuana with intent to distribute.
Juarez is charged in the
indictment with additional counts of third-degree
possession of marijuana, in connection with
the one-half pound of marijuana found at
the labor camp, and second-degree possession
of marijuana with intent to distribute,
in connection with 11 pounds of marijuana
that he allegedly loaded into a van at Las
Delicias on July 2, 2007, and transported
to a farm labor camp in Chester County,
Pa., to sell.
Leonardo DeJesus and Luis
DeJesus are charged in the indictment with
second-degree conspiracy, second-degree
attempted possession of cocaine with intent
to distribute, and third-degree attempted
money laundering, in connection with the
$47,000.
Second-degree crimes carry
a maximum sentence of 10 years in state
prison and a $150,000 fine, while third-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of five
years in prison. The third-degree money
laundering charge carries a fine of up to
$500,000, while the third-degree drug possession
charge carries a fine of up to $25,000.
The indictment is merely
an accusation and the defendant is presumed
innocent until proven guilty. The indictment
was handed up to Superior Court Judge Maria
Marinari Sypek in Mercer County, who assigned
the case to Atlantic County.
The indictment is posted
with this release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
At the time of their arrests,
bail was set at $250,000 for each of the
five defendants. Juarez remains in jail,
while the other four defendants are free
on bail.
View
Indictment (287k pdf)
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