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Accused Dealers Busted After Disabling Paterson Street Cams Where Girl, 15, Was Killed

Drug dealers disabled a city surveillance camera, but that didn't stop Paterson detectives from busting five of them while collecting 715 heroin folds and a significant amount of crack on the street where a 15-year-old girl was shot and killed, authorities said.

The city surveillance camera at the corner of Essex Street and Madison Street in Paterson.

The city surveillance camera at the corner of Essex Street and Madison Street in Paterson.

Photo Credit: GoogleMaps

Increasing shootings has brought a spotlight to the neighborhood on and around the corner of Essex and Madison streets, Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said.

Drug detectives worked undercover to build a case after wires were cut to a city camera on a utility pole at that corner, the director said.

In just a few short hours, they watched several deals go down and identified a bunch of locations where the stashes were kept, he said.

They quickly arrested eight buyers and five dealers -- four of whom were working together, Speziale said.

Two male buyers were from out of town -- one 32 years old from Fairview and the other 52 years old from Budd Lake. The rest live in Paterson and are mostly middle-aged or older, including a 60-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman.

One of them, 61-year-old John Lacitignola, tried to elude police before being caught with 50 heroin folds, Speziale said.

The detectives also seized 22 vials and 12 bags of crack and nearly $1,000 in proceeds, the director said.

Charged with dealing and/or having drugs for sale, all from Paterson, were:

  • Keith Brown, 32;
  • Jermaine Scott, 30;
  • Jose Roman, 30;
  • Christopher Gass, 27;
  • James Dunn, age 19.

The neighborhood has come under increased scrutiny since a 15-year-old girl North Haledon girl was killed and four men wounded in a shooting at Essex and Madison.

Early last month, detectives nabbed an 18-year-old accused heroin dealer who they said was carrying a loaded a .380-caliber Ruger semi-automatic handgun equipped with a ”drum”-style magazine capable of firing more than 30 rounds close to the spot where the girl was slain.

SEE: Crack, Gun, High-Capacity Mag Seized, Teen Nabbed At Spot Where Paterson Girl, 15, Was Killed

A week or so later, Paterson investigators seized 2,584 heroin folds, 327 bags of crack and a loaded gun in an apartment at the same corner. They also found various amounts of crystal meth, cocaine, oxycodone, Ecstasy and methadone along with a loaded .25-caliber handgun.

A man arrested by police in that case was using a multi-family home at the corner of Essex and Madison to package and store the drugs, authorities said.

SEE: 2,584 Heroin Folds, 327 Crack Bags Seized At Same Corner Where Girl Was Killed In Paterson

A predawn shooting at Essex and Madison in late June sent five people to the hospital -- one of them 30 years old, another 25, two of them 19 and a 17-year-old juvenile.

SEE: Deadliest Corner In Paterson? Five Wounded In Hail Of Gunfire Where Girl, 15, Was Killed

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