The arrest of an Ewing man in Berkeley Heights last week led to the recovery of a significant quantity of LSD and thousands of dollars in cash, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park and Berkeley Heights Police Department Officer-in-Charge Lt. John DiPasquale announced Monday.
Milton Pethica, 35, is charged with first-degree possession of LSD with the intent to distribute and five lesser drug offenses.
Pethica’s arrest marked the culmination of a joint investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office’s Guns, Gangs, Drugs, and Violent Crimes Task Force and the Berkeley Heights Police Department into recent sales of LSD and marijuana in the area. A search of Pethica’s backpack turned up four sheets of LSD – a quantity in excess of 100 doses – and approximately one pound of marijuana. A subsequent search of Pethica’s home on Masterson Court in Ewing turned up nearly $16,000 in cash and marijuana packaging materials.
Bail for Pethica was set at $75,000, after which he was lodged in Union County Jail.
Convictions on first-degree crimes typically are punishable by terms of 10 to 20 years in state prison.
These charges are mere accusations. Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.