The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office reported today that the charges against Ed Forchion contained in three pending files have been downgraded and dismissed. Each case handled by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office is judged on its own unique set of facts and circumstances.
Officials say after a review of the defendant’s pending cases, they felt that the downgrade and dismissal of the charges was an appropriate resolution.
According to authorities, this determination was made after taking into consideration the recent shift in the climate of marijuana legislation in New Jersey as well as the changes in state law with regard to bail reform. These factors call for an adjustment in the way the office most appropriately uses its resources and assistance from other law enforcement agencies in order to prioritize detention cases such as murders, attempted murders and violent crime. The fact that the defendant has served more than a year in prison while these cases were pending was also taken into consideration.
The Mercer County grand jury on August 5, 2016,returned an 11-count indictment charging Forchion with numerous narcotic offenses related to a two-month investigation by the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force. Four of those counts have been downgraded to disorderly persons offenses and will be prosecuted in Trenton Municipal Court.
The remaining counts have been dismissed.
Officials say Forchion, along with two co-defendants, was arrested and charged on March 3, 2017, by Trenton police following a raid on his restaurant. One of those counts has been downgraded to a disorderly persons offense and will be prosecuted in Trenton Municipal Court. The remaining counts have been dismissed. This pertains to all three co- defendants.
In 2016, a Mercer County grand jury returned an indictment charging Forchion with one count of fourth-degree cyber harassment. That charge has been downgraded to a petty disorderly persons offense and will be prosecuted in Trenton Municipal Court.