Bust In 'Dangerous' NJ Fentanyl Scheme Results In 14 Arrests, Most In Jersey City

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Fourteen New Jersey residents, including a postal worker, were charged on Wednesday after a four-month investigation in which prosecutors seized a kilo of suspected heroin, more than 400 grams of fentanyl, three handguns, cash, and $500,000 worth of jewelry, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office announced Wednesday.

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said that a "a high level and dangerous drug operation" had been dismantled as the result of the arrests.

Starting at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, more than 100 law enforcement officers executed search warrants in Jersey City, Newark, Rahway, and the Bronx, prosecutors said.

They arrested 14 individuals – including an employee with the United States Postal Service – and uncovered a manufacturing and distribution facility in Newark, prosecutors said.

The street value of the recovered narcotics is approximately $342,000, they said. In addition, they seized more than $70,000 in cash.

“Charles King and his crew’s alleged schemes to distribute fentanyl throughout New Jersey were
fueled by plain greed – a desire to enrich themselves with jewelry, cash, guns, and cars – all at the
expense of the community who is left to shoulder the burdens brought on by organized drug trade,” said Jason Molina, special agent with homeland security in Newark.

Fentanyl was found in 75 percent of people who passed away due to drug overdoses in New Jersey in 2019, according to a recent report.

“These arrests are the result of multiple law enforcement agencies working collaboratively with
the goal of dismantling a high level and dangerous drug operation,” said Hudson County
Prosecutor Esther Suarez. “Because of this strategic investigation, we were able to seize a large
quantity of lethal narcotics, confiscate firearms that would have been used for unlawful purposes,
and make the neighborhoods in which this network operated safer.”

The following individuals were arrested:

• Charles King, 48, of Jersey City is charged with Leading a Narcotics Trafficking Network; Conspiracy to Distribute (Fentanyl); Money Laundering; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering.
• Ronderence Pinckney, 50, of Jersey City, is charged with Conspiracy to Distribute
(Fentanyl); Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering; Possession (Heroin); Possession with the Intent to Distribute (Heroin); Possession with the Intent to Distribute (Heroin) within 1,000 Feet of a School; Possession of Drug Paraphernalia with the Intent to Distribute; two counts of
Possession of a Weapon and a Controlled Dangerous Substance; two counts of Certain Persons Not to Possess a Weapon; and Receiving Stolen Property (Firearm).
• Jorge Rosario, 49, of Rahway, is charged with Conspiracy to Distribute (Fentanyl).
• Erving Carter, 50, of Jersey City, is charged with Conspiracy to Distribute (Fentanyl).
• Marlon Wells, 49, of Jersey City, is charged with Conspiracy to Distribute (Fentanyl); two counts of Possession with the Intent to Distribute (Heroin); and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia with the Intent to Distribute.
• Kenneth Muldrow, 49, of Jersey City, is charged with Conspiracy to Distribute
(Fentanyl).
• Joseph Williams, 59, of Jersey City, is charged with Conspiracy to Distribute (Fentanyl); Possession with the Intent to Distribute (Heroin); and Possession with the Intent to Distribute (Heroin) with 1,000 Feet of a School, a crime of the third degree.
• Martin Adorno, 45, of the Bronx, is charged with Conspiracy to Distribute (Fentanyl); and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering.
• Charles Taylor, 48, of Jersey City, is charged with Conspiracy to Distribute (Fentanyl).
• Terrance Grant, 33, of Jersey City, is charged with Conspiracy to Distribute (Fentanyl).
• Lois Hill, 62, of Jersey City, is charged with Possession with the Intent to Distribute
(Heroin); and Possession with the Intent to Distribute (Heroin) with 1,000 Feet of a School.
• Tamika Hill, 46, of Jersey City, is charged with Money Laundering.
• Kharheim Crawford, 49, of Jersey City, is charged with Possession (Heroin) in violation; and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia with the Intent to Distribute.
• Jada Carter, 19, of Jersey City, is charged with Obstruction.

Additional arrests and charges are pending, prosecutors said.

Find out more about fentanyl, a dangerous opioid, on the DEA website.