Man Pleads Guilty In 1,500-Dose Ocean County Heroin Case

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Mercer County man has pleaded guilty in connection with a February arrest that netted more than 1,500 doses of heroin, the Ocean County prosecutor announced Thursday.

David Jones, 45, of Cranbury, pleaded guilty on Sept. 13 to possession with the intent to distribute heroin and conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute in a separate case before Superior Court Judge Rochelle Gizinski. Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 8-1/2 years in prison with 4 years, 3 months of parole ineligibility on the heroin charge and a concurrent 3-year sentence on the cocaine charge, Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said.

Jones is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 1, the prosecutor's office said.

Jones was arrested Feb. 26, 2019, following a nearly two-month investigation by the prosecutor's office Narcotics Strike Force into drug activity in Ocean, Monmouth, and Mercer counties. Search warrants were executed at an apartment in East Windsor as well as two motor vehicles and the searches turned up more than 1,500 doses of heroin/fentanyl and a large quantity of MDMA/Ecstasy pills. Execution of those search warrants led to the discovery of evidence revealing that Jones was in possession of illegal narcotics for purposes of distribution in the tri-County area.

Billhimer praised the hard work and dedication of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force and the assistance of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, Mercer County Criminal Investigations Unit, Mercer County Tactical Response Team, Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, Mercer County Special Investigations Unit, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and Ocean County Transportation Department.

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