HOWELL — A man and a woman have been charged with possession of a significant amount of a substance believed to be heroin.
Howell police said that at 5:18 p.m. Oct. 23, Crime Suppression Unit Officer Lt. Tom Rizzo, Patrol Officer Ryan Richards, Patrol Officer Nicholas Bondarew and K-9 Jago were in the area of a convenience store at the intersection of Route 9 north and Casino Drive.
Police said the officers observed a Honda sedan parked outside the convenience store. The officers observed an individual who was later identified as Keith Foster Jr., 24, of Asbury Park, walking back and forth in the parking lot and speaking on a cell phone.
Police said the officers observed a woman in the driver’s seat of the vehicle holding an infant girl. The woman was later identified as Queenarabia Suggs, 21, of Edison, and the baby was later identified as her 1-year-old daughter, according to police.
Police said Bondarew approached Foster as Rizzo and Richards approached Suggs. The officers detected the odor of marijuana and Suggs was asked to exit the vehicle with her child.
As Suggs exited the vehicle, Patrol Officer Sean MacDonald, who had arrived at the scene, noticed several wax folds fall out of a jacket Suggs was removing from the car. The officers searched Suggs, Foster and the vehicle and found 400 wax folds suspected of containing heroin.
Police said Foster and Suggs were arrested and charged with possession and distribution of heroin and endangering the welfare of a child. They were both placed in the Monmouth County jail, Freehold Township, with bail set at $205,000 each.
The infant was turned over to family members. The vehicle was temporarily left at the scene to be returned to the owner, according to police.