September 5, 2001
Trenton,
NJ — In a continued effort to remove drug dealers and their clientele away
from school zones, Mercer County Prosecutor Daniel G. Giaquinto announced the
conclusion of “Operation
Clear Path III” with the arrest of 24 individuals.
The
Mercer County Narcotics Task Force, led
by Lt. Al Paglione and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Special Investigations
Unit, conducted a series of school zone drug busts during June, July and August.
Dubbed “Clear Path III,” the operation was generated
by numerous community complaints and designed to aggressively free school zones of drug
dealing scourge before the start of the school year.
“Investigations
like Clear Path III give us the opportunity to pursue street-level drug dealers,
in addition to our day-to-day activities targeting major narcotics trafficking
into Mercer County,” Giaquinto said.
“We want to deter not only drug distributors, but also individuals
coming into these areas to purchase drugs.”
Operation
Clear Path III focused on drug dealing in the areas of Martin Luther King Middle
School, P.J. Hill School and Trenton High School, especially in the vicinity of Logan and Walnut
avenues.
As a result, over the last three months, narcotics investigators seized
powder cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana totaling approximately
$4,000. Three
vehicles and $1,600 in cash were also confiscated.
The
Lawrence Township Police Department, the West Windsor Police Department, the
Mercer County Sheriff’s Department and Trenton’s Narcotics Enforcement
Bureau assisted the prosecutor’s SIU in the arrests.
Arrested
on drug charges as a result of a June 27 surveillance operation were: Javier
Caquias, 27, of the 300 block of Tyler Street, Trenton; Charles Albert Carlson,
32, of the 1500 block of Menlo Avenue, Jacksonville, FL; Joseph Warren Casper,
27, of Trenton; Michael J. Conover, 28, of the 800 block of West State Street,
Trenton; Derocher Ellston, 47, of the 100 block of Pennington Avenue, Trenton;
Martell G. Jones, 18, of the 700 block of East State Street, Trenton; George
Luis Martinez, 21, of the 300 block of Ardmore Avenue, Trenton; Tyheam Nocks,
24, of the first block of Meade Street, Trenton; Eliut Oquendo, 35, of the first
block of Faircrest Avenue, Trenton; and Paul Thompson, 29, of Trenton.
Arrested
on drug charges as a result of a July 3 buy-bust operation were: Steven T.
Harper, 37, of the 1000 block of Greenwood Avenue, Trenton; and Phillippe E.
Johnson, 24, of the 300 block of Garfield Avenue, Trenton.
Vincent
Johnson, 38, of the 900 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard, Trenton, was
arrested on drug charges as a result of a search warrant executed at his
residence on July 12.
Arrested
on drug charges as a result of a July 20 investigation were: William Haywood
Johnson, 25, of the 800 block of Greenwood Avenue, Trenton; Toby Donnell Rivers,
30, of the 500 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard, Trenton; and Jeffrey
Tyrone Goss, 26, of the 1000 block of East State Street, Trenton.
Arrested
on drug charges as a result of an August 10 surveillance operation were: Corey
Morris, 24, of the first block of Marion Street, Trenton; Michael Terrell
Powell, 31, of the first block of Evans Avenue, Trenton; Raheem Nathaniel
Sherman, 21, of the 100 block of Walnut Avenue, Trenton; Michael Leon Williams,
22, of the 600 block of Lamberton Street, Trenton; and a juvenile.
Arrested
on drug charges as a result of an August 16 buy-bust operation were: Christopher
J. Jones, 30, of the 1000 block of East State Street, Trenton; and Johnny
Westfield, 41, of the 800 block of Parkside Avenue, Trenton.
Henry
A. Geddes, 49, of the 400 block of Greenwood Avenue, Trenton, was arrested as a
result of a search warrant executed at his residence on August 24.
Prosecutor
Giaquinto indicated that the majority of the charges were second- or
third-degree offenses.
“This
is the third year we have conducted this operation, timed at the start of the
school year to send a message to students not to get involved in drug
culture,” Giaquinto said.
“We need to reinforce the idea, especially to those in the drug trade,
that schools should be safe havens.”
The prosecutor also stated that Operation Clear Path would be an ongoing
drug interdiction effort throughout the school year.
Citizens
are encouraged to call local police or the prosecutor’s confidential Drug Tip
Hotline at (609) 989-6411 to report illegal drug activity.
Despite
having been charged, every defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty
beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.