Seventeen Charged & Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars In Deadly Drugs Seized Following 8-Month Investigation
Tuesday, June 25, 2024, 9:00 A.M. ET. By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
FREEHOLD, NJ.- On Monday, Monmouth County Authorities reported that 17 people have been arrested and hundreds of thousands of dollars of narcotics were seized following an eight-month investigation into the widespread distribution of illicit narcotics throughout the Monmouth County, New Jersey area.
During the investigation, it was determined that illegal narcotics were being fed into Monmouth County from Somerset and Passaic Counties by Yusef A. Kearney, 48, of North Plainfield, New Jersey, and Gerson G. Villeda-Fajardo, 47, of Paterson, New Jersey.
On Monday, April 29, 2024, Kearney was taken into custody in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and was found to be in possession of just around 300 grams of cocaine.
According to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago, the investigation culminated with the execution of court-authorized search warrants at two locations in Paterson, New Jersey, last month. During the searches, Detectives uncovered an active and fully functional fentanyl mill being operated by Pedro Torres-Rivera, 54, and Manuel Dejesus-Polanco, 54, both from Paterson, New Jersey. Upon entry into the subject locations, the two men were wearing surgical masks and were actively packaging drugs at that time, both men were immediately taken into custody.
Further investigation uncovered that Kearney was supplying narcotics to Kaileem S. Davis, 47, of Tinton Falls, New Jersey, and Tyking Pugh, 37, of Ocean Township, New Jersey. Then Pugh was supplying narcotics to Sammie Boynton, 44, of Middletown, New Jersey, and the drugs continued to flow across Monmouth County.
Accordingly, at the conclusion of the investigation, the following individuals were formally charged;
Kearney has been formally charged with 8 counts of Possession and Distribution of Narcotics offenses that include two first-degree, four second-degree, and two third-degree crimes.
Farardo has been formally charged with 8 counts of Possession and Distribution of Narcotics offenses that include two first-degree, four second-degree, and two third-degree crimes.
Torres-Rivera has been formally charged with 13 counts of Possession and Distribution of Narcotics offenses that include three first-degree, six second-degree, and four third-degree crimes.
Dejesus-Polanco has been formally charged with 6 counts of Possession and Distribution of Narcotics offenses that include one first-degree, two second-degree, and three third-degree crimes.
Davis has been formally charged with 4 counts of Possession and Distribution of Narcotics offenses that include two first-degree, one second-degree, and one third-degree crime.
Pugh has been formally charged with 9 counts of Possession and Distribution of Narcotics offenses that include four second-degree and five third-degree crimes.
Boyton has been formally charged with 12 counts of Possession and Distribution of Narcotics offenses that include five second-degree, and seven third-degree crimes.
Saeed Wilson, 47, of Long Branch, New Jersey has been formally charged with 3 counts of Possession and Distribution of Narcotics offenses that include one first-degree, one second-degree, and one third-degree crimes.
Algieron M. Pines, 29, of Middletown, New Jersey has been charged with 4 counts of Possession and Possession with the Intent to Distribute Narcotics offenses that include two third-degree, and two fourth-degree crimes.
Darrah D. Bacy, 35, of Tinton Falls, New Jersey has been charged with 3 counts of Conspiracy and Possession of Narcotics offenses that include three third-degree crimes.
Marcus M. Carter, 38, of Eatontown, New Jersey has been charged with 3 counts of Possession and Distribution of Narcotics offenses that include one first-degree, one second-degree, and one third-degree crimes.
Jerome A. Geathers, 45, of Howell, New Jersey has been charged with 3 counts of Conspiracy, Possession, and Distribution of Narcotics offenses that include three third-degree crimes.
Robert Diakow, 46, of Middletown, New Jersey has been charged with 3 counts of Possession and Distribution of Prescription Pills that include three third-degree crimes.
Deborah A. Bost, 50, of Hazlet, New Jersey has been charged with one count of third-degree Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine and one count of third-degree Possession of Cocaine.
Allison L. Waltsak, 51, of Tinton Falls, New Jersey has been charged with one count of third-degree Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine and one count of third-degree Possession of Cocaine.
Geoffrey Melvin, 74, of Neptune Township, New Jersey has been charged with one count of third-degree Conspiracy to Possess Oxycodone and third-degree Possession of Oxycodone.
Jason Remp, 40, of Keansburg, New Jersey has been charged with one count of third-degree Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine.
Last month court-authorized search warrants were also executed on a pair of stash houses located in Long Branch, New Jersey, and Neptune Township, New Jersey. As a result of the searches, Detectives seized approximately 450 grams of fentanyl, enough to potentially claim the lives of 225,000 people, 325 grams of cocaine, a quantity of Prescription Xanax pills, 6 pounds of Marijuana, a kilogram press, a pill press, multiple ink pads and stamps, cutting agents, and approximately $27,350 in cash.
A total of 22 types of folds for packaging individual doses of opioids were also found, of which three have been linked to fatal overdoses in Monmouth County in recent months.
The following individuals have been charged in the case, but have not been apprehended at this time;
Jeffrey Wells, 33, of Tinton Falls, New Jersey is charged with third-degree Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin, third-degree Distribution of Heroin, third-degree Possession of Cocaine, and third-degree Possession of Heroin with the Intent to Distribute.
Suzzette Depolmo, 34, of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey is charged with third-degree Conspiracy to Possess Heroin, third-degree Conspiracy to Possess Xanax, third-degree Possession of Heroin, and third-degree Possession of Xanax.
Christopher Johnson, 43, of Keansburg, New Jersey is charged with third-degree Conspiracy to Distribute Xanax, third-degree Conspiracy to Possess Heroin, third-degree Distribution of Xanax, third-degree Possession of Heroin, and third-degree Possession of Xanax.
Ronald Remp, 44, of Keansbug, New Jersey is charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Xanax, third-degree Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine/Heroin, third-degree Distribution of Xanax, third-degree Possession of Cocaine, third-degree Possession of Heroin, and third-degree Possession of Xanax.
Kurtis D. Barnes, 45, of Atlantic City, New Jersey is charged with third-degree Conspiracy to Distribute Xanax, third-degree Distribution of Xanax, and third-degree Possession of Xanax.
Rasheen Yarbrough, 45, of Tinton Falls, New Jersey is charged with third-degree Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, third-degree Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine, third-degree Distribution of Cocaine, third-degree Possession of Cocaine, and third-degree Possession of Cocaine with the Intent to Distribute.
“The arrests and seizures being announced today mark the end result of a herculean investigative effort involving innumerable moving parts, all seamlessly coordinated with the help of more than two dozen other law enforcement agencies,” Prosecutor Santiago said. “A criminal enterprise that has been poisoning our neighborhoods for the better part of a decade has been thoroughly dismantled, and I cannot commend enough, all the dedicated men and women whose inexhaustible tenacity and commitment to collaboration have made that possible.’
“The rules of the court requires us to include a statement, that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”
