Taishaun Cosme (Photo: Ocean County Jail)
A Brick man is facing charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine as well as the illegal possession of a firearm and banned ammunition, prosecutors said Tuesday morning.
Taishaun Cosme, 24, of Brick, was taken into custody Jan. 23, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office announced Tuesday, when police in Barnegat advised the office’s Narcotics Strike Force that a man was posting photos on Snapchat of a firearm and a quantity of cash in his motor vehicle. Further investigation involving the Ocean County Narcotics Strike Force, Barnegat Township Police Department, Brick Township Police Department, Lakewood Township Police Department, and Toms River Police Department revealed that the male was Cosme.
Using Snapchat’s geo-location function, detectives were able to locate Cosme operating a vehicle in Lakewood, the statement from. Detectives executed a motor vehicle stop of Cosme’s vehicle and subsequently obtained a court-authorized search warrant for the vehicle, which yielded a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun and several rounds of hollow point bullets, as well as a “significant amount of cocaine,” digital scale, and assorted paraphernalia “indicative of drug distribution.”
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Cosme was taken into custody and is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
“The apprehension of Taishaun Cosme is a prime example of what law enforcement agencies can accomplish when they work together,” Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said.
The investigation included members of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, Barnegat Township Police Department Crime Reduction Unit and Detective Bureau, Toms River Township Police Department Special Enforcement Team and Detective Bureau, Lakewood Township Patrol Division, Street Crimes Unit and Detective Bureau, and Brick Township Police Department Patrol Division, Street Crimes Unit and Detective Bureau.
