Crime & Safety
Two Facing Heroin Charges After Drug Sweep Of Barnegat Home, Garden State Parkway Chase
Authorities recovered heroin in Mast Drive home, Prosecutor's Office says.
Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and Barnegat police recently arrested a Newark man and a Barnegat woman on heroin charges after a chase that started in Barnegat and ended in Brick Township, authorities said.
The Prosecutor's Special Operations Group identified a home at 19 Mast Drive in Barnegat that was used to store and distribute heroin by Joe F. Starks, 23, Newark and Justine Garcia, 23, Barnegat. They also targeted a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu the two used to distribute heroin.
Detectives obtained a no-knock search warrant for the home and the car. They tried to conduct a motor vehicle stop on the night of Nov. 18, but Starks sped onto the Garden State Parkway northbound. The New Jersey State Police joined in the chase with marked cars and members of the State Police Aviation Unit.
Find out what's happening in Barnegat-Manahawkinfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Officers followed the Chevrolet Malibu northbound into Monmouth County where Starks pulled over near mile marker 94. Both Starks and Garcia were arrested and taken back to the Barnegat Police Department.
Mmembers of the Prosecutor’s Special Operations Group, the Barnegat Police Narcotics Unit, and the Ocean County Regional SWAT Team and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Unit seized 3,500 individual dosage units from the Barnegat home. The Chevrolet Malibu was also seized pending future forfeiture proceedings,
Find out what's happening in Barnegat-Manahawkinfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Starks, 92 17th Avenue, Newark, and 19 Mast Drive, Barnegat, was charged with possession of heroin, possession of heroin to distribute over one half ounce, distribution of heroin and eluding police. Ocean County Superior Court Judge James M. Blaney set Sparks' bail at $400,000 cash. He was taken to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River.
Garcia, age 23, 19 Mast Drive Barnegat, was charged with possession of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to distribute over one half ounce and distribution of heroin. Her bail was set at $20,000 cash. She was taken to the Ocean County Jail in lieu of bail.
Images: Patch file photo.
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