TRENTON
–Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that a man from Aruba has been
sentenced to state prison for conspiring
to distribute eight kilograms of heroin.
Daury
Rodriguez, 23, of Aruba, was sentenced Friday
(March 19) to 10 years in state prison with
three and a half years of parole ineligibility
by Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan
in Morris County.
On
Nov. 6, Romona Rodriguez-Tejada, 51, of
Brooklyn, NY, was also ordered to serve
10 years in state prison with 40 months
parole ineligibility. The sentences were
based on the defendants’ Aug. 7, 2009
guilty pleas to one count of conspiracy
and one count of possession of a controlled
dangerous substance with the intent to distribute,
charges contained in a May 30, 2008 state
grand jury indictment.
In
pleading guilty, the defendants admitted
that between Dec. 24, 2007 and March 7,
2008, they conspired to sell at least five
ounces of heroin. An investigation determined
that the defendants conspired to sell eight
kilograms of heroin in Secaucus. The heroin
has a street value of approximately $1.5
million. Rodriguez-Tejada admitted that
on Jan. 9, 2008, she was in possession of
the eight kilograms of heroin which she
and Daury Rodriguez were attempting to sell.
As the result of an undercover investigation,
Rodriguez-Tejada was arrested that day by
the New Jersey State Police after they conducted
a consensual search of a bag containing
the drugs. Daury Rodriguez was arrested
on March 7, 2008.
Detectives
from the New Jersey State Police conducted
the investigation. Deputy Attorney General
Philip J. Mogavero prosecuted the case for
the Division of Criminal Justice and represented
the Division at the sentencings.
### |
