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Ricardo Garden arrested by detectives from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Professional Standards Bureau on Thursday, June 20, after being found in possession of drugs, Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II said.
Garden was charged with a litany of offenses: third-degree possession of heroin; third-degree possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute; possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute within 1000 feet of a school and 500 feet of a public park, both third degree offenses; and possession of more than ounce but less than five pounds of marijuana, a fourth-degree offense. He also faces disorderly person charges of possession of Xanax and possession of narcotics paraphernalia.
He was jailed and released on Saturday, June 22, the Essex County Department of Corrections website shows.
As a result of his arrest, Garden — who has been on the force since November 2015 — has been suspended without pay, Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé said.
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