TRENTON
– A Burlington County man was sentenced
to state prison today for possessing more
than 5 ounces of cocaine that he intended
to distribute, Attorney General Anne Milgram
announced.
James
Ellis, 47, of Mt. Holly, was sentenced to
10 years and six months in state prison,
including five years and three months of
parole ineligibility, by Superior Court
Judge Patricia R. LeBon in Burlington County.
Ellis pleaded guilty on June 20 to a charge
of first-degree possession of cocaine with
intent to distribute. Ellis also must forfeit
$7,500 seized at the time of his arrest.
Deputy
Attorney General Andrew M. Butchko prosecuted
the case and handled today’s sentencing
for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs
& Organized Crime Bureau.
The
charge was contained in a state grand jury
indictment obtained on April 9 as a result
of an investigation by the New Jersey State
Police Organized Crime Control Bureau -
Street Gang Central Unit, the U.S. Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,
and the Division of Criminal Justice.
As
a result of the investigation, members of
the State Police and the ATF Violent Gang
Task Force arrested Ellis at his Mill Street
home in Mount Holly on Oct. 15, 2007. Detectives
searched Ellis and his residence and recovered
more than 5 ounces of cocaine.
Ellis
was also sentenced today in a separate case
on a charge filed by the Burlington County
Prosecutor’s Office of third-degree
possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
Judge LeBon sentenced Ellis to four years
in state prison with two years of parole
ineligibility on that charge, with the sentence
to run concurrently with the sentence on
the first-degree charge.
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