TRENTON
– A Newark man pleaded guilty today
to a first-degree cocaine charge as a result
of an investigation by the Division of Criminal
Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau
that led to his arrest with more than five
ounces of cocaine last November, Attorney
General Anne Milgram announced.
Adrian
Hernandez, 32, of Newark, pleaded guilty
today to first-degree possession of cocaine
with intent to distribute before Superior
Court Judge Michael A. Petrolle in Essex
County.
Hernandez
was indicted by a state grand jury on May
2. Under the plea agreement, Hernandez faces
a state prison sentence of seven years,
with 25 months of parole ineligibility.
Judge Petrolle scheduled his sentencing
for Dec. 19.
Supervising Deputy Attorney General Lauren
Scarpa-Yfantis, deputy chief of the Division
of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized
Crime Bureau, prosecuted the case and took
today’s guilty plea. The investigation
was led by Detective Louis Renshaw of the
Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.
On
Nov. 28, 2007, detectives from the Gangs
& Organized Crime Bureau stopped the
SUV that Hernandez was driving in the area
of Verona and Woodside avenues in Newark.
The detectives searched the SUV after Essex
County Sheriff’s Detective William
Caldwell and his dog, Joe, conducted a canine
search of the SUV. Hernandez was arrested
after detectives discovered approximately
5.6 ounces of cocaine within a hidden compartment
in the center console of the vehicle.
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