A Brick Township man and his co-defendant, a Manchester resident, pled guilty Wednesday to charges of maintaining a drug production facility following a series of police raids last year that netted over a kilogram of cocaine and quantities of several other drugs, plus hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Jose Quintero-DeJesus, 37, of Brick Township, and Victor Mendoza-Gutierrez, 26, of Manchester, both entered guilty pleas before Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan. The state will be seeking an eight-year prison term for the pair when they are sentenced in December.
Just prior to the execution of several search warrants in May 2020, Brick Township police arrested Quintero after a motor vehicle stop on his 2019 Ford F150. Mendoza-Gutierrez was apprehended at the Manchester residence. As a result of the investigation and execution of the search warrants, law enforcement located and seized multiple loaded firearms, approximately 1,050 grams of cocaine, 20 grams of methamphetamine, a quantity of marijuana, drug paraphernalia “indicative of distribution purposes,” a high-end security system, and approximately $30,000 in cash, the statement said.
|
The investigation that led to the men’s arrests took three months to complete.
The agencies that investigated were: the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Asset Forfeiture Unit, Ocean County Regional SWAT Team, Northern Ocean County/Monmouth Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force (HIDTA), Manchester Township Police Department Narcotics Enforcement Team, Brick Township Police Department Street Crimes Unit, Brick Township Police Department K-9 Unit, Brick Township Police Department SERT, Lakewood Police Department Street Crimes Unit, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit .

Advertisement

Police, Fire & Courts
Six Charged After Cocaine, Crystal Meth Found During Brick Traffic Stops

Shore Environment
Heat Advisory In Effect Tuesday With High of 98, Some Relief Expected

Shore Environment
Sunset for the Birds: A Little Wildlife to End the Day in Brick
