NJ Councilman Indicted For Selling Drugs To Undercover Cop

FLEMINGTON, NJ - An elected councilman from North Jersey was indicted Thursday on drug distribution and related charges after selling to an undercover police officer earlier this year, authorities said.

Flemington Borough Town Council member Malik D. Johnston, also known as Pippin J. Folk, 46, of Flemington, was indicted by a Hunterdon County grand jury for possessing, distributing, and possessing with intent to distribute controlled dangerous substances, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée M. Robeson said.

The indictment charges Johnston with third-degree possession of cocaine, two counts of third-degree possession of methamphetamine, second-degree distribution of cocaine, second degree distribution of methamphetamine, second-degree possession with intent to distribute cocaine and second-degree possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, Robeson said.

Each second-degree charge could result in prison terms between five and ten years and fines up to $150,000, Robeson said.

The charges stemmed from a joint investigation by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office’s Narcotics Task Force and the Flemington Borough Police Department, Robeson said.

From December 2022 to February 2023, Mr. Johnston sold cocaine and methamphetamine to an undercover police officer in Raritan Township, Robeson said, adding that further investigation found that Johnston was in possession of more cocaine and methamphetamine with intent to distribute while in Flemington.

“The joint investigation demonstrates the expertise and professionalism of Hunterdon County’s law enforcement community,” Robeson said in a statement. “Illegal drug manufacture and distribution continue to pose a significant threat to public health and safety, which will be detected and prosecuted according to law.”

Johnson was elected to the Flemington Borough Town Council in 2020 and works for Piscataway-based Kinkisharyo International as an electrician, per his LinkedIn profile. He graduated from Hunterdon Polytech in 2016 and Mercer County Community College with a degree in Business Administration and Management in 2011.