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Thursday, jun 4
Tag:
Methamphetamine
News
‘Call Me Daddy' Creepy Church Leader, Soccer Coach Raped Girl Before Kidnapping Her To Mexico
Kevin Esterly — the Pennsylvania man who ran off to Mexico with a teenage girl in 2018 — has now been convicted of repeatedly raping the same victim when she was a child, prosecutors announced on Wednesday, March 5. The disturbing allegations first emerged when the victim came forward to police in February 2025, saying Esterly had sexually abused her for years, beginning when she was a child. A jury convicted Esterly, now 53, of rape, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and endangering the welfare of children following a trial that began with jury selection on …
News
NJ Fugitive Who Trafficked Meth Busted In California: AG
A 33-year-old Absecon man and one of New Jersey's Most Wanted was arrested in California, authorities announced Thursday, Dec. 11. Jordan Ragland was arrested in Sacramento in September by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Task Force, with assistance from the New Jersey State Police Fugitive Unit, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Ragland was wanted for maintaining a controlled dangerous substance production facility, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, unlawful possession of an assault firearm, and unlawful possession of a semi-automatic pistol, Platkin said.…
Police & Fire
24K Folds Of Heroin, Guns Seized In Massive Elizabeth Drug Bust: Prosecutor
Eight people were arrested and thousands of folds of heroin seized in a major narcotics operation in Elizabeth, authorities said. On Friday, Sept. 12, members of the Union County Prosecutor’s Office Intelligence and Narcotics Division, Elizabeth Police Department Narcotics Unit and Emergency Services Unit, the DEA, Department of Homeland Security, the Union County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit, and Union County SWAT executed multiple search warrants across the city, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel said. The raids turned up 24,920 folds of suspected heroin, 1,460 grams of suspected cocaine, 2…
News
LSD, Ketamine Shipped From Netherlands Intercepted In Philly: CBP
Customs agents in Philadelphia are continuing to crack down on drugs smuggled through international mail, with their latest seizure uncovering a powerful hallucinogenic and a dangerous animal sedative, officials announced on Wednesday, Sept. 10. The bust happened over two days in mid-August when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers inspected three envelopes arriving from the Netherlands. Inside each was a clear bag of white crystals that tested positive for ketamine hydrochloride, a controlled substance commonly known on the street as “Special K.” In one envelope, officers also found…
Police & Fire
Drug
Bust
: 121 Pounds Of Marijuana, LSD, Meth Seized In Manchester Raid, Cops Say
Six people are facing charges after police seized large quantities of drugs — including marijuana, LSD, methamphetamine, and cocaine — from a New Jersey home, authorities said. The Sunday, Aug. 25 search warrant was carried out by detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, along with multiple law enforcement agencies, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. The search turned up approximately 121 pounds of marijuana, 100 pounds of THC products, 75 pounds of cannabis concentrate, seven sheets of LSD, two pounds of methamphetamine, 20 pounds of…
Police & Fire
'Green Bean': Illegal Marijuana Delivery Service Gets 6 Arrested, Ocean County Prosecutor Says
Six people have been arrested in Ocean County following a two month investigation into illegal narcotics, authorities announced Monday, Aug. 26. A storefront in Toms River, two residences in Waretown and a residence in Jackson were used to distribute marijuana as part of a delivery service called "The Green Bean," Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. Last month, detectives established surveillance on the storefront on Route 9 in Toms River, Billhimer said. As the suspects exited the business, they were each taken into custody, Billhimer said. Detectives executed a search w…
News
Police Chief, Marine, Dad In Federal Prison For Meth Pleads Guilty In Mushrooms Tampering Case
A father, Marine veteran, and former police chief in Pennsylvania already serving federal prison time for meth trafficking has now pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence in a case tied to missing mushrooms, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli announced on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. Former Greensburg Police Chief Shawn Denning pleaded guilty to three counts of tampering with evidence before Common Pleas Judge Michael Stewart, according to the DA’s office. Judge Stewart sentenced Denning to one year of probation. The case stems from a February 2023 audit of the Greensburg…
Police & Fire
Cocaine, Meth, Fentanyl, Firearms: 14 People Charged In South Jersey Trafficking Ring
Fourteen people have been charged with weapons offenses for their roles in a South Jersey drug trafficking organization, authorities announced Thursday, July 17. Ryan Collins, the leader of the group and a Crips gang member, is charged with being the leader of a narcotics trafficking network, distribution of cocaine and methamphetamine, and promoting organized street crime, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. The 33-year-old Vineland resident also faces weapons offenses involving two assault firearms, a handgun, and large-capacity magazines, as well as charges stemming from the sale of fe…
News
Rooftop Chase, NJ Fugitive, Switch Guns: PA AG Sunday’s Philly Task Force Nabs 7 Armed Felons
A violent felon chased across a North Philly rooftop. A wanted man tied to New Jersey. Teens flaunting illegal machine gun-modified pistols on social media. All arrested in a wave of takedowns led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday’s Philadelphia Gun Violence Task Force, officials announced Tuesday, July 15. Philly Gun Task Force Targets Repeat Offenders Seven people — including convicted shooters and suspected drug traffickers — were recently arrested in coordinated raids across Philadelphia, state prosecutors said. The cases involve illegal switches that convert pistols into fu…
Police & Fire
Meth, Cocaine, Fentanyl, Heroin, Guns: Somerset Man Found Guilty, Feds Say
A 50-year-old Somerset man was convicted this week of drug trafficking and possessing firearms after initially being arrested after he was found passed out in his car, authorities said. On Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, Lawrence Township police responded to Route 1 near the Quaker Bridge Mall after they were alerted to a car stopped in the middle of the highway, US Attorney Alina Habba said. Officers found Malachi Muhammad unresponsive and as they attempted to wake him, they noticed the handle of a handgun in between his legs, Habba said. Muhammad was removed from his vehicle and placed under arr…
Police & Fire
Cocaine, Meth, Marijuana: Toms River Man Arrested Twice, Prosecutor Says
A 39-year-old Toms River man was recently arrested twice and charged with storing and distributing cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, authorities said. On Thursday, March 20, detectives began surveilling Jonathan Acosta’s residence, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. After he was taken into custody following a traffic stop, a search warrant was executed on his residence, which saw the seizure of 21 grams of meth, approximately one-half pound of marijuana, a quantity of cocaine, and materials indicative of narcotics distribution, Billhimer said. Acosta was hit with numerou…
Police & Fire
Meth, Cocaine, AR-15: Jackson Man Learns Fate After Four Arrests, Prosecutor Says
A 51-year-old Jackson man was sentenced to seven years in prison on Friday, April 4 after pleading guilty to various drugs and weapons charges, authorities said. Shawn Garrettson pleaded guilty in February to the weapons and drug charges, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. In December 2019, multiple jurisdictions executed a search warrant on Garrettson’s Jackson residence, Billhimer said. Detectives seized methamphetamine, marijuana, a sawed-off shotgun and large capacity ammunition magazines, Billhimer said.. Garretson was taken into custody and subsequently released, Billhime…
Police & Fire
Heroin, Meth, Cocaine: Seven Busted in Burlington County Drug Raid, Police Say
Seven people were recently arrested and charged with running a heroin mill in Burlington County, authorities said. Authorities investigated a large scale narcotics operation in Pemberton late last year, finding that William Anderson, a 60-year-old Brown Mills man, was trafficking substantial quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, with David Furter, a 61-year-old Palmyra resident serving as a key supplier of bulk methamphetamine, New York State Police said. Law enforcement saw Furter place a red bag into a mailbox at 1495 Junction Rd, police said. They conducted a mot…
Police & Fire
Ghost Guns, Meth, Firearm Seized From Pair In Ocean County Raid: AG
Two Ocean County residents are facing charges following a raid on Wednesday, Feb. 19 that turned up numerous ghost guns and methamphetamine, authorities said. Law enforcement conducted search warrants at multiple locations and recovered and seized, guns, including guns with no serial number- "ghost guns," extended magazines, and a quantity of methamphetamine, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. The defendants, George Garulle, 56, of Beachwood, and Dana Restaino, 39, of Whiting, conspired to sell a defaced firearm with no serial number, Platkin said. They were charge…
Police & Fire
Drug Dealer Sold Howell Victim Heroin, Meth That Killed Him: Prosecutor
A 40-year-old Howell Township resident was recently arrested and charged with supplying a man heroin and meth that killed him in 2023, authorities said. On Friday, Dec. 22, 2023 at 12:44 p.m., Howell Township police found an adult male deceased on the floor of his bedroom at a residence on Westbrook Road, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said. An investigation revealed Paul Clites had been communicating with the victim leading up to his death, later providing him with the drugs that killed him, Santiago said. Clites was charged with strict liability for a drug-induced…
Police & Fire
Auto Repair Shop Used To Store Meth, Guns, Steroids: Ocean County Prosecutor
A 43-year-old Little Egg Harbor Township resident was recently arrested and charged with using an automotive repair shop to store and deal methamphetamine, authorities said. James Palmisano was arrested following a two-month investigation that culminated in a search warrant at Island Automotive at 699 Route 9 on Friday, Jan 3, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. Detectives seized two sawed-off shotguns, a .22 caliber single action rifle, a Flintlock pistol, approximately 19 vials of suspected steroids, a quantity of methamphetamine, a quantity of hollow point bullets,…
Police & Fire
Jackson Twp. Man High On Meth In Toms River Crash That Injured Four Sentenced: Prosecutors
A Jackson Township man will spend up to two decades in prison for driving a stolen pickup while high on methamphetamine in a crash that injured another man and three children, authorities said. Charles Sharkey Jr., 35, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison on Friday, Dec. 20, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. He was given two 10-year sentences that will run consecutively. Sharkey previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and certain person not to possess a firearm. He was charged in a crash at around 4 p.m. on Thur…
Police & Fire
Violent NJ Human Trafficking Rings Dismantled Where Women, Teens Were Forced Into Sex: AG
Seven people have been arrested in the dismantling two human trafficking rings, one in North Jersey and one in South Jersey, authorities said. The rings were based in Essex County and Cumberland County, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said at a news conference on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Khailah Meekins, 21 and Donte Barkley, 28, both Newark residents, trafficked two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old in Essex County, Platkin said. Meekins and Barkley arranged sexual encounters for the girls through mobile apps that included online ads featuring nude photos of the minors. The girls would be…
Police & Fire
NJ Police Sergeant Tests Positive For Meth, Took Drugs From Evidence Room: Prosecutor
A police sergeant in Hammonton is facing multiple charges after testing positive for methamphetamine and taking drugs from the department's evidence room, authorities said. Detective Sergeant Robert Zbikowski, 45, of Hammonton, was charged on Monday, Nov. 25, with second-degree official misconduct, second-degree pattern of official misconduct, third-degree theft by unlawful taking, and two fourth-degree charges: tampering with physical evidence and obstruction of law, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office. In 2024, the Hammonton Police Department contacted the Atlantic County…
Police & Fire
Jackson Twp. Man, Egg Harbor City Teen Among 19 Arrested In Atlantic City Crackdown: Police
Nearly 20 people have been arrested in a major crackdown on drugs and illegal guns in Atlantic City, authorities said. The Atlantic City Police Department announced the 19 arrests in a news release on Wednesday, Nov. 27. A weeks-long operation targeted drug activity and "quality-of-life issues" in the neighborhoods surrounding Florida, Bellevue, and Texas avenues. Police seized 195 bags of heroin, more than 117 grams of cocaine, five grams of methamphetamine, 11 ecstasy pills, various prescription drugs, and two guns. Several vehicles, including an illegal dirt bike, wer…
Police & Fire
Home Invasion Convict Who Sold Fentanyl, Meth At Atlantic City Hotel Sentenced: Prosecutors
An Absecon man serving more than half a century for a violent home invasion was additionally sentenced for running a drug ring out of an Atlantic City hotel, authorities said. Michael Hayes, 47, was given an eight-year state prison sentence on Tuesday, Nov. 12 for second-degree conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release on Wednesday, Nov. 20. The sentence will run concurrently with the 60-year term he's serving for a September 2020 home invasion. The drug charges stem from a Sunday, Dec. 16, 2020, search of Hayes’ secon…
Police & Fire
Weapon-Dealing Duo Found With Illegal Guns At Toms River Motel, Police Say
A man and woman from Ocean County were accused of illegally selling guns, authorities said. George Garulle of Beachwood and Dana Restiano of Whiting were arrested on Monday, Nov. 4, the Stafford Township Police Department said in a news release. Investigators executed two search warrants at the Howard Johnson motel in Toms River and a home on Neptune Avenue in Beachwood. Garulle and Restaino were found with several illegal guns, including defaced guns, ghost guns, rifles, and shotguns. Police also discovered the two had high-capacity magazines, an undisclosed amount of …
Police & Fire
Jackson Twp. Man Admits To Driving High On Meth, Injuring Four In Toms River Crash: Prosecutors
A Jackson Township man admitted to driving a stolen pickup while high on methamphetamine in a crash that injured another man and three children, authorities said. Charles Sharkey Jr., 35, pleaded guilty on Monday, Oct. 21 to aggravated assault, driving while intoxicated, and certain person not to possess a firearm, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. Sharkey was charged in a crash on Thursday, Mar. 23, 2023. Toms River police responded to the wreck near the intersection of Route 70 and Massachusetts Avenue at around 4 p.m. Invest…
Police & Fire
Child Overdosed On Cocaine, South Jersey Drug Dealer Federally Charged: Prosecutors
A Maple Shade man was accused of selling drugs after bringing an overdosing child to a hospital, authorities said. Daniel Garcia Jr., 27, was charged with possession with intent to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine and possession of firearms by a convicted felon, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release on Tuesday, Sept. 24. According to court documents and statements, Garcia and another person rushed the child to the hospital on Sunday, June 23. The child wasn't breathing, was having seizures, was drooling, and was unresponsive. Afte…
Police & Fire
Five Arrested In Heroin, Cocaine, Meth Bust In Ocean County: Prosecutors
Five people from Ocean County were accused of selling heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, authorities said. The five were taken into custody during a month-long investigation into drug dealing, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release on Friday, Sept. 20. Investigators identified a home on Bear Hollow Court in Little Egg Harbor used for the drug sales and established surveillance. John Pecoreno, 40, and Elysia Sullins, 23, both of Little Egg Harbor, were seen leaving the home and driving away from the area on Friday, September 6. Investigators contin…
Police & Fire
Trio Indicted In Plot To Murder Man In Jackson Township, Prosecutors Say
A grand jury indicted three men accused of plotting to shoot and kill another man in Jackson Township, authorities said. Michael Vulpis of Freehold Borough, Noah Phelps of Monroe Township, and Glenn Franzson of Jackson Township were indicted on Wednesday, Sept. 18, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. The three were facing charges in the shooting on Thursday, June 27. Jackson police responded to the shooting report on Larsen Road at around 12:20 a.m. and officers found a 27-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his face. He was treat…
News
NJ Women Drugged With Meth-Infused Tequila, Sexually Assaulted By 'Sugar Daddy,' Complaint Says
A newly obtained criminal complaint details how a 40-year-old Pennsylvania man drugged and sexually assaulted six women during their dates from hell at his home. All of the women, including two from New Jersey, met Andrew Gallo, of Levittown, PA on sugardaddymeet.com. Gallo appeared to have followed the exact same playbook, police papers show: He'd brag about his bartending skills then pour them a drink from open bottles and hop in the shower shower. When he got out, he'd give the women a tour of his home, telling them how he rebuilt it after a fire. It was somewhere around this point …
News
PA Man Accused Of Drugging, Assaulting Women He Met On Sugar Daddy Site, DA Says
At least six women are known to have been sexually assaulted after going out with a man they met on an online dating site who ended up drugging them, District Attorney Jennifer Schorn and Bristol Township Police Chief Robert Coulton announced on Wednesday, Sept. 11. Andrew Gallo, 40, of Copper Beech Lane, Bristol Township, was charged with five counts of rape by causing impairment, six counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, four counts of strangulation, two counts of selling or furnishing liquor or malt or brewed beverage to minors, and one count each of s…
Police & Fire
Two More Arrested In Plot To Murder Man In Jackson Township, Prosecutors Say
Two more men were charged in a plot to shoot and kill another man in Jackson Township, authorities said. Noah Phelps of Monroe Township and Glenn Franzson of Jackson Township were arrested, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release on Tuesday, Aug. 20. The two were facing charges in the shooting on Thursday, June 27. Jackson police responded to the shooting report on Larsen Road at around 12:20 a.m. and officers found a 27-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his face. He was treated at Jersey Shore University Medical Center and released from the N…
Police & Fire
Man Who Ran Cockfighting Ring With Father, Sold Meth In South Jersey Sentenced: Prosecutors
A Greenwich Township man will spend at least three years in prison after leading a cockfighting ring with his father, authorities said. Jimmy Hadden, 50, was sentenced to 10 years in state prison, Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said in a news release on Tuesday, Aug. 13. He must serve at least three-and-a-half years before he can be eligible for parole. Investigators said Hadden and Jaime Ferrer organized the illegal gambling ring involving rooster fights. Hadden was also accused of selling methamphetamine to an undercover officer. Hadden was given several …
Police & Fire
Convicted Felon From Asbury Park Who Sold Fentanyl, Meth, Cocaine Sentenced: Feds
A convicted felon from Asbury Park will spend several years in prison after admitting to selling methamphetamine and having a gun, authorities said. Dywann Pugh, 44, was sentenced on Wednesday, July 10 to 10 years in federal prison, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. He previously pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. According to court documents and testimony, police executed search…
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