Manchester Man Gets 12 Years On Cocaine Possession Charge

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Manchester Township man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for cocaine possession, the Ocean County prosecutor's office announced Monday.

Darnell Williams, 35, of Manchester, also was sentenced to 6 years of parole ineligibility by Superior Court Judge Rochelle Gizinski on Friday, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. Williams pleaded guilty to possession of more than 5 ounces of cocaine on Nov. 15.

Williams was arrested March 18, 2019, when he was pulled over in the area of Route 571 and Route 70, and a search warrant was executed at a Manchester home at the same time. Authorities seized significant amounts of cocaine and heroin and approximately $5,400 in cash as a result, the prosecutor's office said.

The searches were conducted by the prosecutor's Narcotics Strike Force, detectives from the prosecutor's office and the Manchester police department, the Ocean County Regional SWAT Team and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department K9 unit.

Williams also was sentenced on three additional, unrelated charges, receiving three years for theft by deception and fraudulent use of a credit card; three years for distribution of cocaine; and 18 months for operating a motor vehicle during a period of license suspension for a second or subsequent DUI. All sentences will run concurrently.

Billhimer praised Assistant Prosecutors Stephen Burke, Kaitlyn Burke and Ashley Angelo, along with the Narcotics Strike Force, Ocean County Regional SWAT Team, Manchester Township Police Department Patrol Division, Manchester Police Department Narcotics Enforcement Team, Manchester Township Police Department K-9 Unit, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit for their efforts.

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