Man Admits To Dealing Drugs, Stealing Gun In Barnegat

BARNEGAT, NJ — A Barnegat man admitted to dealing drugs and stealing a gun in connection with two separate incidents in 2021 and 2022, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Quaison Ellis, 25, pleaded guilty to possession of more than one half ounce but less than five ounces of heroin with intent to distribute in connection with an incident that occurred in Barnegat on Sept. 10, 2021. Additionally, Ellis pleaded guilty to possession of more than one half ounce but less than five ounces of cocaine with intent to distribute, being a certain person not to possess a firearm, and burglary, all in connection with an incident that also occurred in Barnegat on Dec. 9, 2022.

In the first incident, officers were watching a house on Hawthorne Lane in Barnegat as part of a narcotics investigation, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Ellis was seen leaving the house and getting into the front passenger seat of a car, Billhimer said. Detectives followed the car all the way to Paterson, where they saw Ellis meeting with a man, he said. After a few minutes, Ellis returned to the car, put a bag in the trunk and then headed back down to Barnegat, Billhimer said.

Officers stopped the car, and the unnamed driver consented to a search, revealing about 1,550 wax folds of heroin, Billhimer said. Ellis was taken into custody at Ocean County Jail, but released due to bail reform.

Then, on Dec. 9, 2022, during another narcotics investigation, authorities conducted a court-authorized search warrant on the same Hawthorne Lane house, Billhimer said.

As a result, detectives seized "quantities" of heroin and cocaine, along with a Keltec .32 caliber firearm, Billhimer said.

That gun had been stolen from a car in Stafford on Sept. 29, 2022, resulting in an additional burglary charge for Ellis, Billhimer said.

He was again taken into custody and then again released due to bail reform.

Ellis is set to be sentenced on Sept. 13, 2024. At this time the state will seek:

• A term of ten years New Jersey State Prison (NJSP) for the possession with intent to distribute heroin charge
• Ten years NJSP for to the possession with intent to distribute cocaine charge
• Five years NJSP - with a five year period of parole ineligibility - as to the weapon offense
• Three years NJSP with regard to the burglary charge.

These sentences are to run concurrently.