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]At approximately 1 p.m. Tuesday, Ewing and Hamilton police joined in warranted searches of multiple townships' properties with assistance from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit, county Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Homeland Security Investigators, according to Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri.
As a result of a two-month investigation, Justin Hill, 33, of Ewing, was taken into custody during a motor vehicle stop in Ewing Township, Onofri said Wednesday.
Hill was allegedly found to have a 9mm semi-automatic handgun concealed in his waistband and two bricks of heroin allegedly were observed on the center console of the Jeep Cherokee he was operating, the prosecutor said.
A search of 43 N. Johnston Avenue in Hamilton found 150 bricks of heroin in a second-floor bedroom and an automatic firearm with a suppressor and 30-round magazine on the floor in the living room, Onofri said.
Detectives executing a search warrant at Hill’s residence on Conway Avenue in Ewing allegedly found an AR-15 style rifle without a serial number, a 60-round magazine drum, a 30-round pistol magazine and numerous rounds of rifle ammunition, Onofri said.
Cash totaling $1,048 also was seized during the warranted searches, the prosecutor said.
Onofri estimated that the seized heroin has an approximate street value of $22,500.
Hill was charged with first- and second-degree narcotic and weapons offenses.
He was being held at the Mercer County Correction Center pending a detention hearing.
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