A male and a female suspect were arraigned today on multiple drug charges following their arrests on Friday by Essex County sheriff’s detectives.
Sheriff Armando Fontoura stated that detectives from his department’s Bureau of Narcotics staged a plainclothes surveillance operation at the intersection of Park Avenue and North 5th Street in the city’s North Ward on Friday afternoon in response to numerous complaints by local residents and business owners of open-air drug trafficking at that location.
At 1:30 p.m., a female, later identified as Glorive Negron, 40, arrived at the intersection. Negron loitered in the area as she appeared to be waiting for someone.
“Within a few minutes, Oscar Cortez, age 25, arrived at the scene on foot,” Sheriff Fontoura noted. “Cortez who was carrying a white shopping bag with blue lettering was immediately identified by our officers from previous investigations.”
Both suspects are Newark residents.
When Cortez handed the shopping bag off to Negron the sheriff’s BON detectives moved in to further investigate.
“Cortez bolted from the scene, running through a number of backyards and finally into a nearby residence through the back door,” Fontoura said. “Our offices chased after him and apprehended him inside the home without further incident.”
“The shopping bag was examined by our detectives,” the sheriff added, “and it contained an open potato chip bag and a small black plastic bag. Inside those bags were 500 heroin-filled glassine envelopes, stamped ‘TOP CHEF’ in red ink.”
Negron was charged with possession of CDS, possession of CDS with intent to distribute, possession of CDS with intent to distribute within 1000 feet of William H. Horton School and possession of CDS with intent to distribute within 500 feet of Branch Brook Park.
Negron was also found to be the subject of five open warrants issued by the Superior Court of Atlantic County.
Cortez was charged with distribution of CDS, distribution of CDS within 1000 feet of the William H. Horton School, distribution of CDS within 500 feet of Branch Brook Park and resisting arrest.
At today’s arraignments, Negron was ordered held on $100,000 cash bond only while Cortez’s bail was set at $75,000 cash bond only.
Both suspects were remanded to the Essex County jail.