Cocaine, Heroin, Pills Seized, 5 Arrested In Toms River-Brick Drug Bust

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Five people were arrested and authorities seized cocaine, heroin and pills during a drug bust involving homes in Toms River and Brick and a hotel room, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.

Tyrese Lett, 25; Kylah Parks, 28, and Rameek I. Peace, 38, all of Toms River, and Kyle Murrin, 39, of Brick Township, were arrested and face multiple drug charges as a result of the searches conducted Feb. 19, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

The fifth person, Moises Martinez, 36, of Toms River, was arrested and charged with being a certain person not to possess a firearm after authorities found a Keltec 9mm firearm at one of the homes, the prosecutor's office said.

The arrests and searches on Feb. 19 followed what the prosecutor's office said was an extensive investigation into drug distribution in the area that identified two homes in Toms River and one in Brick being used to store the drugs, Billhimer said.

Detectives conducting surveillance saw Lett and Parks in a vehicle traveling through Lakehurst and pulled it over and arrested them, then searched the vehicle and the motel room in Toms River, the prosecutor's office said.

Those searches turned up 49 grams of cocaine, 70 grams of crack cocaine, 16 bricks of heroin, morphine pills, alprazolam pills, oxycodone pills, drug paraphernalia, and approximately $25,000 in cash, authorities said.

Meanwhile, detectives saw Peace leave his home in Toms River, and arrested him as he was walking in the area of Route 37, the prosecutor's office said.

Both Toms River homes were then searched and detectives seized the Keltec 9mm and arrested Martinez, who was at the home.

The search of the Brick Township led to authorities seizing 20 grams of codeine, hydrocodone pills, and drug paraphernalia indictive of narcotics distribution, authorities said, and Murrin, who was at the home, was arrested.

Lett was charged with possession of 5 ounces or more of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of more than one-half ounce but less than 5 ounces of heroin with intent to distribute, conspiracy to possess 5 ounces or more of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine, possession of heroin, possession of oxycodone, possession of morphine, possession of alprazolam, possession of amphetamines, possession of drug paraphernalia, and financial facilitation. He was being held at the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Parks was charged with possession of 5 ounces or more of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of more than one half ounce but less than 5 ounces of heroin with intent to distribute, conspiracy to possess 5 ounces or more of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine, possession of heroin, possession of oxycodone, possession of morphine, possession of alprazolam, possession of amphetamines, possession of drug paraphernalia, and financial facilitation. She was taken to the Ocean County Jail but released as a consequence of New Jersey bail reform.

Peace was charged with distribution of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine, conspiracy to possess 5 ounces or more of cocaine with intent to distribute, and being a certain person not to possess a weapon. He is being held at the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Murrin was charged with possession of hydrocodone pills with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled dangerous substance without a valid prescription, possession of drug paraphernalia, and maintaining a nuisance. He was served with the charges via a summons pending court appearances.

Martinez is being held in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.

The investigation involved the Narcotics Strike Force, Major Crime and Asset Forfeiture units of the prosecutor's office; the FBI Safe Streets Task Force from the Red Bank office; and Toms River, Brick Township and Berkeley Township police, Billhimer said.