36°
Edwin Garcia-Mendez, 40, also had an AR pellet rifle and various items used to process and package cocaine, including two hydraulic kilo presses and acetone, in his first-floor apartment on East 24th Street, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said.
Members of the sheriff's Bureau of Narcotics had been watching Garcia-Mendez for several weeks before moving in, Berdnik said.
They were tailing his white Honda Accord when Garcia-Mendez stopped on Southard Street and sold a small bag of cocaine to a 49-year-old city man on Thursday, Jan. 18, the sheriff said.
They arrested Garcia-Mendez, who had an additional bag of coke on him, and the buyer, who was later released, he said. The Honda was impounded.
A search of Garcia-Mendez's apartment and a detached garage followed.
Garcia-Mendez -- who criminal records say is a Dominican national -- was charged with a dozen drug-related offenses and sent to the Passaic County Jail.
He was transferred to the Bergen County Jail before a judge on Friday granted his release.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Ridgewood and receive free news updates.
