Fugitive Drug Kingpin Convicted Of Running Ocean County Ring: Prosecutor

TOMS RIVER, NJ — An Ocean County man with a history of heroin dealing convictions has been convicted by an Ocean County jury of leading a distribution ring. Now authorities are seeking help in locating him.

Daryel Rawls, 36, of Lakewood, was convicted Wednesday on charges of first-degree leader of a narcotics trafficking network, second-degree conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin, second-degree possession with intent to distribute heroin and second-degree possession with intent to distribute cocaine, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato announced Thursday.

Rawls is a fugitive and was convicted in absentia, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor's office. He was released from New Jersey State Prison in July 2016 after a sentence in a prior distribution case, according to prison records. The prosecutor's office is working with the U.S. Marshals Service to locate Rawls, he said. Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact the prosecutor's office at 732-929-2027, he said.

The conviction stems from a 2010 wiretap case dubbed operation “Baked Zito,” in which Rawls was the target of the investigation, Della Fave said. The investigation spanned multiple counties, including Ocean, Monmouth and Union, and 13 people were charged in the case, he said.

During the approximately month-long wiretap, Rawls was captured managing and organizing his heroin distribution ring and was ultimately arrested on Oct. 17, 2010. At the time of his arrest he was found to have more than 20 bricks (1,000 bags) of heroin and 26 grams of powder cocaine in his possession, Della Fave said.

During the course of the investigation, thousands of drug-related conversations were intercepted, he said.

The trial began on Feb. 28, 2017, after the case was taken to the state Supreme Court on issues of interception of marital communications between Yolanda Terry and Tern Savoy which took place during the course of the investigation. The prosecutor's office won the appeal, allowing the communications to be admissible in the trial, Della Fave said. Rawls was represented by attorney Keith Reid in his absence, Della Fave said.

Several of Rawls' co-defendants testified, as well as experts from the prosecutor's office and the New Jersey State Police on the wiretap evidence, he said.

The conviction on first-degree leader of a narcotics trafficking network carries a life term in prison, Della Fave said.

Rawls has previously spent time in state prison at least twice in connection with other cases. He and his brother, Detric Rawls, pleaded guilty in May 2012 to their roles in a heroin distribution ring in the Bayshore area of Monmouth County, a case that resulted in the arrests of 25 people. He also pleaded guilty to distribution charges in a Union County case in 2011.

According to New Jersey state prison records, Daryel Rawls was imprisoned in the Union County case from September 2011 to July 16, 2016, according to the records. The 46-month sentence in the Monmouth County case ran concurrently to the Union County case, where he was sentenced to a six-year extended term of incarceration as a repeat drug offender with a 30-month parole disqualifier.

Rawls also spent five years, eight months in prison in connection with a 2001 case where he was charged with drug distribution in Monmouth County, according to prison records.

Records also show Rawls was arrested in the Ocean County case while under indictment in the Union County case; in 2014, Rawls sought to have 155 days he spent in jail in Ocean County after an August 2010 arrest credited to his sentence in the Union County case, where he pleaded guilty.

Della Fave said the case was tried by Senior Assistant Prosecutor Michael Abatemarco and Assistant Prosecutor Robert Cassidy. Special Operations Group Detective Anthony Sgro testified as the wiretap affiant. Testimony was also presented by Detectives Ken Hess, Casey Long, and James Kingston of the Special Operations Group; Joanne Maffei of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, CIU; Detective Thomas Kulpinski of the New Jersey State Police Electronic Surveillance Unit, and Trooper Jeffrey Greco of the New Jersey State Police, Della Fave said.

Photo courtesy of Ocean County Prosecutor's Office