Luis R. Camacho, 29, of Galloway, and Paul V. Rosario, 32, of Absecon, were indicted on a charge of first-degree possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.  Camacho and Henry Sanchez, 30, of Atlantic City, were named in a second indictment charging them with second-degree distribution of cocaine, second-degree distribution of cocaine within 500 feet of a public park, and third-degree distribution of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school.  The defendants were charged as a result of an investigation by the New Jersey State Police, Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, Atlantic City Police Department and Division of Criminal Justice.

Camacho and Rosario were arrested on July 7, 2010, after they arrived at a fast food restaurant on Arkansas Avenue in Atlantic City, where they allegedly had agreed to sell six ounces of cocaine to a cooperating witness.  Rosario consented to a search of the SUV he was driving, and detectives allegedly found nearly 6 ounces of cocaine in a child’s backpack in the vehicle.  That seizure is the basis for the first-degree charge of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.   That charge carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $500,000.

The charges against Camacho and Sanchez relate to an alleged sale of half an ounce of cocaine that the two men allegedly made to a cooperating witness at Sanchez’s house on Arctic Avenue in Atlantic City on Nov. 5, 2010.  Sanchez’s house is within 500 feet of the Texas Avenue Playground and within 1,000 feet of the Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic School.

Deputy Attorney General Julia S. Glass presented the case to the state grand jury for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.  The investigation was led by Detective Craig Brown of the New Jersey State Police Drug Trafficking South Unit.  Attorney General Chiesa thanked the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office and the Atlantic City Police Department’s Vice Unit for their assistance in the investigation.

The indictments were handed up to Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobson in Mercer County, who assigned them to Atlantic County.  The second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while the third-degree school zone charge carries a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000.  The indictments are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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