Gun Stolen From Cedar Grove Recovered In Bloomfield Drug Arrest: Police

CEDAR GROVE, NJ — Essex County sheriff’s detectives charged two Essex County suspects with multiple gun and narcotics offenses after stopping them in Bloomfield with a firearm allegedly stolen out of Cedar Grove on Wednesday afternoon, authorities say.

According to the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, detectives conducted a plainclothes surveillance operation in response to “numerous neighborhood complaints of drug trafficking in the area of Bloomfield and Watsessing avenues.”

During the stakeout, officers allegedly observed “two suspects with lengthy criminal records” identified as Joseph Marano, 27, of Newark, and Jagain Wilcox, 23, of East Orange, drive a 2012 Hyundai Sonata into the rear parking lot of Jeanette Apartments at 270 Bloomfield Avenue.

As the suspects sat inside the vehicle, the sheriff’s BON detectives allegedly saw Marano and Wilcox repeatedly examine the contents of a clear plastic sandwich bag on the car’s center console.

When detectives moved in to investigate, they found that the bag contained 367 heroin-filled glassine envelops stamped ‘GREEN IS GOOD” in green ink, authorities said.

Police also found Wilcox in possession of a loaded, .25 caliber Sterling handgun allegedly stolen out of Cedar Grove on Oct. 30, authorities stated.

Authorities charged Marano and Wilcox with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of CDS with intent to distribute, possession of CDS with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of Berkeley School, possession of CDS with intent to distribute within 500 feet of Berkeley Park and conspiracy to violate New Jersey’s narcotics laws.

Wilcox was additionally charged with the unlawful possession of a weapon, the unlawful possession of a weapon while committing a narcotics crime, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and possession of a stolen weapon. He was also found to be wanted on open criminal warrants for wandering in a known drug area and for aggravated assault, police said.

Marano was also issued two summonses for transporting CDS in a motor vehicle and for being an unlicensed driver.

Marano and Wilcox are being held at the Essex County jail on cash bonds of $150,000 each, police stated.