With Baby In Car, Seaside Heights Man Took Oxycontin, Police Say

A Seaside Heights man is accused of taking Oxycontin to get high while watching over a 4-month-old baby in a car, after a caller reported seeing a suspicious vehicle, police said Thursday.

Mario Cilindrello, 27, of Seaside Heights, was arrested Tuesday, Jackson Township Capt. Steven Laskiewicz said.

Jackson Police Officers Kevin Chesney and Mark Rodina responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle on Pfister Road in Jackson shortly after 1 p.m., and saw a 2013 Kia that fit the description of the vehicle, Laskiewicz said. As Chesney approached the car, he saw a man sitting in the back seat of the car holding a bag containing several pills, he said.

Next to the man was a baby seat with a 4-month-old infant who was drinking a bottle, Laskiewicz said.

When Chesney knocked on the car window to get the man’s attention, the man -- later identified as Cilindrello -- made a quick movement toward a bag on the floor of the car, he said. Cilindrello was then removed from the car and arrested, Laskiewicz said, as Rodina, one of the department’s drug recognition experts, arrived.

Several suspected Oxycontin pills were recovered which appeared to be in the process of being prepared for ingestion, Laskiewicz said. Officers also made observations of prior ingestion while speaking with Cilindrello, he said.

Officer William Simon arrived to assist and the vehicle was impounded as Cilindrello and the infant were transported to police headquarters, where Cilindrello was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, being under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance and child abuse, Laskiewicz said.

The New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency was notified of the incident and the child and the vehicle were later turned over to family members upon conclusion of the officers’ investigation.

Cilindrello is being held at the Ocean County Jail, Toms River, in lieu of $50,000 bail set by Judge Daniel Sahin, Laskiewicz said.