Gavel (Credit: Brian Turner/Flickr)
A Brick man was in a federal courtroom on Thursday to admit his role in running a large heroin distribution ring in Ocean and Monmouth counties, officials said.
U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said Richard Durham, 28, of Brick, admitted to trafficking heroin along with Jamar “Rep” Johnson, 35, of Lakewood, and Anthony J. Brooks, 45, of San Bernadino, Calif. All three men pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to distribute heroin.
Durham entered his plea Thursday. Johnson and Brooks entered their pleas on Monday and Nov. 24, respectively.
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The three men were charged along with 18 others in March of running the trafficking ring, known as the “Britt-Young DTO,” named for Robert “True” Britt, and Rufus Young, who went by the names “Equan,” “E-Money,” and “Kintock.” Five of the 18 charges have since entered guilty pleas.
According to court documents, between Sept. 2013 and March 2014, Johnson and Durham conspired with Young and others to distribute heroin in Ocean and Monmouth counties as part of the BrittYoung DTO. To traffic their product, Brooks would ship packages containing heroin from California. The conspirators in New Jersey then transported and packaged the drugs and distributed them to others.
Brooks, a statement from Fishman said, shipped more than 1 kilogram of heroin and 1.5 kilograms of cocaine from California to New Jersey.
Durham and Johnson face 20 years in prison and $1 million fine following their pleas. Sentencing for Durham is scheduled for March 10, 2015.
Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, Red Bank Resident Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas.
