|
TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced that five people were indicted
today by a state grand jury on charges they
conspired to distribute more than 300 pounds
of marijuana.
According
to Director Paw, James McKoy, 46, of Brooklyn,
NY; Roy Winston Harte, 48, of Irvington;
Sharon Vanessa Phillips, 31, of Arizona;
Gary Leyton Brown, 33, of Florida; and Donald
H. Giddings, aka Tyrone Johnson, 42, of
Queens Village; NY, have each been charged
with two counts of first-degree distribution
of marijuana, one count of first-degree
possession of marijuana with intent to distribute,
and one count of second-degree conspiracy.
The
state grand jury indictment alleges that
on June 27, Brown and Giddings drove Phillips
to a UPS store in Maricopa City, Arizona,
where she shipped four packages allegedly
containing marijuana. It is alleged that
one of the packages was mailed to Toronto,
Canada, and the others were sent to a business
address in Fairfield, Essex County, where
Harte worked as a production manager.
On
July 3, Phillips attempted to send an additional
four boxes allegedly containing marijuana
to Harte, again addressed to the business
in Fairfield. Two boxes were sent through
UPS and two were sent via FedEx. Members
of the Arizona Department of Public Safety
seized those four boxes. Searches of the
boxes revealed approximately 200 pounds
of marijuana.
On
July 5, three of the boxes sent on June
27 were allegedly delivered to Harte at
the business address. Less than two hours
after the delivery, McKoy and Harte loaded
the boxes into McKoy’s car and McKoy
drove away. The vehicle was stopped by the
New Jersey State Police at the entrance
to Route 46 in Fairfield and troopers arrested
McKoy. The boxes in the car allegedly contained
approximately 150 pounds of marijuana.
Later
that day, members of the State Police Drug
Trafficking Central and North Units executed
a search warrant at Harte’s place
of employment in Fairfield and arrested
him.
While
the arrests were being made in New Jersey,
authorities in Arizona executed a search
warrant at a residence in Maricopa City,
Arizona, where they arrested Giddings and
Brown. The search allegedly yielded approximately
170 pounds of marijuana, packaging material
and a scale. Phillips arrived during the
search and also was arrested.
On
July 6, an attempt was made to deliver four
additional packages from Arizona to the
business address in Fairfield where Harte
worked. The packages were later seized by
New Jersey State Police and were found to
contain an additional 200 pounds of marijuana.
The indictment charges that, in total, law
enforcement in New Jersey and Arizona seized
approximately 700 pounds of marijuana through
this investigation.
New
Jersey State Police Trafficking Central
and North Units and Deputy Attorney General
Andrew Butchko coordinated the investigation.
Butchko presented the case to the state
grand jury.
The
indictments are merely accusations and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. First-degree crimes carry a sentence
of up to 20 years in state prison and a
fine of up to $200,000, while second-degree
crimes carry a sentence of up to ten years
in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.
>>
View
Indictment (200k pdf) plug-in
#
# #
|
