| TRENTON - Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced that a Pennsauken man who was caught dealing PCP in Camden was sentenced to state prison today.
Erik DeJesus, 28, of Pennsauken, was sentenced to eight years in state prison, including three years of parole ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge Irvin J. Snyder in Camden. DeJesus pleaded guilty on Sept. 10 to first-degree possession of PCP with intent to distribute, as he was about to go on trial. He entered an “open plea,” meaning there was no plea agreement. Supervising Deputy Attorney General Jill Mayer prosecuted the case and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.
“The violent effects of PCP were made terrifyingly clear in Camden this summer with the murders of two young boys who were killed by assailants who smoked marijuana cigarettes laced with liquid PCP,” said Attorney General Chiesa. “This prison sentence reflects our resolve to deal sternly with any defendant caught distributing PCP.”
“Drug dealing and drug-related violence inflict a terrible toll in Camden and our other urban communities, and we will continue to work aggressively to combat these corrosive influences,” said Director Stephen J. Taylor of the Division of Criminal Justice. “PCP is an especially dangerous drug, and this defendant was dealing it in large quantities.”
DeJesus was arrested on March 10, 2010 by detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice. DeJesus was making “dip sales” of liquid PCP by dipping tobacco cigarettes into vials of pure liquid PCP and selling them from a porch in the 800 block of North 4th Street in Camden. Drug dealers also dip marijuana cigarettes into PCP, but DeJesus was using standard cigarettes. After observing what appeared to be two sales of PCP-laced cigarettes, the detectives approached DeJesus, who was subsequently arrested and searched. The detectives seized a ziplock bag containing suspected marijuana, 13 Newport cigarettes, and four vials of pure liquid PCP. There was a total of approximately 98 grams of PCP, nearly 10 times the weight of PCP required to charge him with a first-degree narcotics offense.
Detective Peppi Pichette led the investigation for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau South Squad, with assistance from Sgt. James Nelson, Detective Brian Woolston and Detective John Collins.
#### |
