An alleged drug dealer and an alleged drug buyer were arraigned today following their arrests yesterday by Essex County sheriff’s detectives authorities announce in a press release.
According to authorities, in response to numerous neighborhood complaints of open-air drug trafficking near the intersection of Victoria Avenue and Stone Street in the city’s North Ward, Sheriff Armando Fontoura stated that his department’s Bureau of Narcotics conducted a plainclothes surveillance operation at that location on Wednesday.
Police said, it was here that a suspect, later identified as Michael Montgomery, 29, was observed standing in front of his residence, located at 57 Stone Street.
“Montgomery was soon approached by a male passerby on foot, later identified as Lee Hernandez, 39, also of Newark. Following a brief conversation between the men, Montgomery removed a clear plastic sandwich bag from his pants pocket and exchanged an item from the bag for cash" authorities said.
Hernandez was followed from the scene, detained and was found to be in possession of a vial that contained ‘crack’ cocaine.
Hernandez was placed under arrest and he also found to be the subject of three open criminal warrants on prior drug charges, providing police with false information and defiant trespass issued by the Union County vicinage of the Superior Court and the municipal courts of Randolph Township and the City of Newark.
“When our BON detectives moved in on Montgomery he was found to be in possession of a glassine envelope filled with heroin,” the sheriff noted. “While placing Montgomery under arrest our officers could hear the crying and screaming of small children emanating from the second floor window of 57 Stone Street which was the suspect’s apartment.
With the apartment door open our officers entered and found a four-year-old boy and a one-year-old girl standing next to an open shoe box that contained an additional 143 decks of heroin, stamped ‘MARKED4DEATH’ in blue ink, and an additional 40 vials of ‘crack’ cocaine" authorities said.
Montgomery was charged eleven counts of the sale, possession and intent to distribute controlled dangerous substances and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
At today’s arraignment, Montgomery was ordered held at the county jail in lieu of $160,000 cash bond only.
Hernandez’s bail was set at $2,000 and was held at the county jail on the open warrants from other jurisdictions.