A joint investigation by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office’s Major Crimes Division Opioid Task Force and the Linden Police Department has led to the arrest of fivemen and the seizure of Fentanyl, two handguns and currency Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel and Linden Police Chief David Hart announced today.
Search and arrest warrants were executed on June 20th in the pre-dawn hours on across the State in Phillipsburg, Middlesex Borough and on homes in Linden on the 1100 block of Charles Street and the 1000 block of Hussa Street, according to Assistant Prosecutors Peter DeRose and Megan Tomlinson, who are prosecuting the case. Approximately 100 grams of raw fentanyl, hundreds of items of drug paraphernalia and packaging materials, two handguns and over $4,000 in cash was seized during the operation. The three-month investigation and execution of the subsequent search and arrest warrants led to the arrests of:
Jawwaad Butler, 43 of Phillipsburg, who was charged with first-degree leader of a narcotics trafficking network and third-degree conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance (CDS).
Justin Williams, 42 of Middlesex Borough, who was charged with second-degree possession with of fentanyl with the intent to distribute, third-degree conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, third-degree possession of controlled dangerous substance, second-degree possession of a firearm while committing a CDS offense, second-degree certain persons not to possess a weapon, and fourth-degree possession of a large capacity magazine.
William Randle, 58 of Linden, who was charged with third-degree conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance and third-degree possession of controlled dangerous substance.
Dameon Little, 50 of Linden who was charged with third-degree conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance and third-degree possession of controlled dangerous substance.
Clifford Jones, 35 of Linden who was charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, third-degree possession of controlled dangerous substance and fourth-degree possession of a large capacity magazine.
The five men were taken into custody during the operation. Little, Jones and Randle were subsequently released on Pre-trial Monitoring pending their next Court appearance while Butler and Williams remain incarcerated pending the outcome of the case, Tomlinson and DeRose said.
“I am extremely grateful to Chief Hart and the members of the Linden Police Department and the Prosecutor’s Office for their efforts throughout this investigation,” said Prosecutor Daniel. “Together with the extensive collaboration with our partner local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, our tireless efforts to diminish the devastating impact of opioids and guns in the communities we serve continue.”
This multi-agency investigation included collaboration and support from the Drug Enforcement Agency Newark Field Division, the New Jersey State Police Electronic Surveillance Unit, the Elizabeth Police DepartmentEmergency Services Unit, the Cranford Police Department, Springfield Police Department, Roselle Park Police Department, the Union County Sheriff’s Office and the Hoboken Police Department. The Union County SWAT Team and the SWAT Teams of both Middlesex County and Warren County assisted with the execution of the search warrants.
Convictions on first-degree criminal charges are commonly punishable by 10 to 20 years, second-degree criminal charges are commonly punishable by 5 to 10 years, third-degree crimes can result in 3 to 5 years, and fourth-degree convictions up to 18 months.
These criminal charges are mere accusations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.