Barnegat Man Sentenced To Prison For Drug Distribution, Weapons, & Burglary
Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 6:45 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
BARNEGAT, NJ.- Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer reported that on Friday, September 13, 2024, Quaison Ellis, 25, of Barnegat Township, New Jersey, appeared in Ocean County Superior Court and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer to ten years in New Jersey State Prison for a previously entered guilty plea for Possession of More than One-Half Ounce but Less than Five Ounces of Heroin with Intent to Distribute.
During Friday’s hearing, Judge Palmer additionally sentenced Ellis to a concurrent term of 10 years for a previously entered guilty plea for Possession of More than One-Half Ounce but Less than Five Ounces of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute. With a 5-year parole ineligibility for being Certain Persons Not to Possess Weapons and three years in New Jersey State Prison for a previously entered guilty plea to Burglary. All the sentences will run concurrently with each other. On July 15, 2024, Ellis pleaded guilty to all charges before Judge Palmer.
According to documents filed with the court, on September 10, 2021, during an ongoing investigation into narcotics distribution in the Ocean County, New Jersey area, Detectives of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, with the assistance of Detectives of the Barnegat Township and Stafford Township Police Departments set up surveillance on a residence on Hawthorne Lane in Barnegat Township.
Detectives Follow Ellis To Paterson
During the surveillance operation, Detectives observed Ellis leave the residence and enter the passenger seat of a motor vehicle. Detectives followed the vehicle to a residence in Paterson, New Jersey, where Ellis met with a man. Within minutes, Ellis returned to the vehicle and put a bag in the trunk. Detectives followed the vehicle back to Barnegat Township.
While the vehicle was traveling in Barnegat, members of the Barnegat Township Police Department conducted a motor vehicle stop on the vehicle, and the driver consented to a search. During the search, Detectives found 1,550 wax folds of heroin. After being arrested, Ellis was transported to the Ocean County Jail, and following his first appearance, he was released on pretrial bail conditions.
During a subsequent investigation, on December 9, 2022, Detectives and Police Officers of the Barnegat Police Department and the Ocean County Regional Swat Team executed a court-authorized search warrant on the Hawthorne Lane residence. During the search, law enforcement found quantities of cocaine and heroin, as well as a Keltec .32 caliber handgun. Further investigation and analysis of the handgun revealed that the gun had been stolen from a vehicle in Stafford Township, New Jersey, on September 29, 2022. Ellis was then additionally charged with burglary.
