| TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that three men were indicted today by a state grand jury on first-degree drug charges in connection with the seizure last year by the New Jersey State Police of nearly one pound of methamphetamine in Kearny.
The Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau obtained a four-count indictment charging each of these three men with second-degree conspiracy, first-degree possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and third-degree possession of methamphetamine:
- Juan Perez-Nunez, 46, of The Bronx, N.Y.,
- Juan Guerrero-Estrada, 30, of Olathe, Kansas, and
- Juan Flores-Santos, 37, of Kansas City, Kansas.
Guerrero-Estrada and Flores-Santos also are charged with first-degree distribution of methamphetamine. The charges stem from an investigation by the New Jersey State Police.
The defendants were arrested on Oct. 22, 2014, when the New York man met the two men from Kansas in the parking lot of a Walmart in Kearny. Members of the New Jersey State Police Trafficking North Unit were conducting surveillance at the site when they spotted a Mercedes Benz with a Kansas license plate occupied by Guerrero-Estrada and Flores-Santos that was parked in a remote area of the parking lot. Later, the Mercedes slowly circled the parking lot and parked in a new location, where Perez-Nunez arrived driving a Honda Civic. The drivers spoke outside their cars, with the trunk of the Mercedes open, and Perez-Nunez repositioned the Honda, after which he allegedly pulled the Honda alongside the passenger side of the Mercedes. At that point, a red-and-white plastic bag allegedly was tossed from the Mercedes into the rear window of the Honda. As both cars departed, they were stopped by state troopers. Perez-Nunez consented to a search of the Honda, where troopers found a red-and-white plastic bag containing nearly 16 ounces of crystal methamphetamine. The three men were then arrested.
Deputy Attorney General Shontae Gray presented the case to the state grand jury for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau. Acting Attorney General Hoffman commended the members of the New Jersey State Police Trafficking North Unit for their investigation.
The first-degree charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $300,000. The second-degree charge carries a sentence of five to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while the third-degree charge carries a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $35,000. The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobson in Mercer County, who assigned the case to Hudson County. The defendants are being held in the Hudson County Jail with bail set at $175,000 for Perez-Nunez and $300,000 each for Guerrero-Estrada and Flores-Santos.
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