Many arrested from Florence, Roebling area
By:Jeff Mikalaitis
FLORENCE —Warrants were issued for the arrest of 47 people on May 17, the result of a six-month undercover narcotics investigation called Operation Summer Break.
The operation is only the beginning of the township’s war on drugs, according to township Police Director Richard Brook.
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “The township plans to keep drug dealers on their toes, and to get them out of our community.”
The investigation involved the State Police Narcotics and Organized Crime Bureau and Narcotics Central Unit, local police, and investigators from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
At the May 17 Township Council meeting, Mr. Brooks announced that the police had made 26 arrests by 11 a.m. that day, and that the balance would probably be in custody by the end of this week.
The investigation began when Florence officials contacted the State Police for assistance from the Quality of Life Task Force in targeting drug related activity throughout the entire community, according to the Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, Lt. Col. Carson J. Dunbar.
The Quality of Life Initiative, was developed by the attorney general’s office in 1996. It requires State Police, all prosecutors and local law enforcement to identify locations in their jurisdictions where drugs are continuously sold in the open.
The limited manpower of the Florence Police Department and the fact that most of its officers are known throughout the community, led them to contact the State Police for assistance, said Mr. Brook.
“They were very willing to join forces,” he said. “We got the utmost level of cooperation throughout the entire operation.”
“We are not unlike many communities in New Jersey. We have a drug problem in certain sections of our town, but we took six months to make buys and collect information that would stand up in court,” Mr. Brook said.
Undercover detectives made more than 70 separate drug purchases from drug dealers, spending nearly $5,000 on packets of crack cocaine, powder cocaine, marijuana and various prescription drugs, police said.
“Coordinated drug enforcement actions between state, county and local law enforcement agencies are an effective way to crack down on dealers and street level drug use” said Lt. Col. Dunbar.
According to police, warrants were issued for the arrest of the following individuals, charging them with one or more of the following violations; possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance within 500 feet of public housing.
Anita Harper, 42, West Second Street, Florence; Rashawn Alexander, 20, West Fifth Street, Florence; Angela Rice, 26, Railroad Avenue, Roebling.
Clifford Henderson, 27, Maplewood Homes, Third Street, Florence; Robert Barney, a.k.a. “Dirty Face,” 25, Cherry Street, Mount Holly; Eugene White, a.k.a. “Tom Tom,” 22, Rowan Street, Philadelphia.
Zachary Tucker, 19, Maplewood Homes, Third Street, Florence; Kevin Page, 19, Tollgate Apts., Florence; Stephanie Rice, 28, Railroad Avenue, Roebling.
Carol Williams, 25, Railroad Avenue, Roebling; Deshawn Lightfoot, 19, East Federal Street, Burlington; Gerald Johnson, 21, Maplewood Homes, Third Street, Florence; Charlene Borota, 37, Third Avenue, Roebling; Rodney Jones, Hunters Glenn Apts., Delran; Philip Booker, 20, Rt. 130, Burlington; Matricia Williams, 44, Maplewood Homes, Third St., Florence; Joseph Shannon, 23, Maplewood Homes, Third Street, Florence; Michale Gaston, 28, Pemberton-Browns Mills Road, Pemberton.
Marie (Murisan) Zebrowski, 37, East Sixth Street, Florence; James A. Bennett, a.k.a. “Kasson Price,” 29, Colonial Avenue, Trenton; Taj Dorsey, 24, W. Front Street, Florence; Brashay Robertson, 24, Rt. 130, Burlington.
Richard Grant, a.k.a. “Anthony Arnold,” 28, W. Sixth Street, Florence; Debbie Riddell, 38, Alden Avenue, Roebling; Luis Laguna, 36, Foundry Street, Florence; Sabrina Johnson, 29, Foundry Street, Florence; Anthony Jeh Els, 34, East Federal Street, Burlington.
Sandra L. Johnson, 39, West Third. Street, Florence; William Robertson, a.k.a. “B-Dog,” 28, Virgina Drive, Browns Mills; Kenneth Curry, 18, West Second Street, Florence; Fred Hancock, 23, Maplewood Homes, Third St., Florence; Richard Littlejohn, 23, Maplewood Homes, Third St., Florence; Kevin Turner, a.k.a. “Nas,” 20, East Second Street, Florence; Jamie McCorriston, 34, Walnut Street, Florence; Eric Evans, a.k.a. “Easy,” 35, Maplewood Homes, Third St., Florence; Charlene McHugh, 38, Foundry Street, Florence; David Cojio, Jr., 18, Amboy Avenue, Roebling; Marie Fratello, 35, Alden Avenue, Florence.
Warrants were also issued for the arrest of six juveniles and three individuals known only as John or Jane Doe.
According to Mr. Brook, the officers involved in the operation where extremely dedicated.
“Capt. Joseph Gadbois, Detective Lonnie Brown and Detective Grant Valente put in countless hours on the operation,” he said.
One detective who was on vacation, returned early to take part in the drug sweep.
“That is a great level of dedication and effort,” Mr. Brook said. The operation was also conducted safely.“No officers or members of the public were injured,” he said.