Drug Dealing Crackdown in North Ward Yields 16 Arrests

The Essex County Sheriff's Office continued its drug dealing crackdown in the North Ward with 16 arrests last week, Sheriff Armando Fontoura said in a statement.

“In response to numerous complaints from the community, we deployed our Bureau of Narcotics to various locations in Newark’s North District during the past week and our efforts have been extremely fruitful,” Fontoura said.

Plainclothes detectives from the bureau of narcotics arrested Carlos Arroyo at about 9 a.m. May 23 after witnessing a drug transaction outside an apartment complex at 163 Grafton Ave., Fontoura said. Also arrested was Luis Alcala, 41, of Newark, who exchanged cash for drugs with Arroyo and was found with 50 decks of heroin in his car, Fontoura said. A passenger, Tracy Tisch, 31, of Bloomfield, was also arrested on two outstanding Newark warrants. 

Other officers forced their way into two apartments at the complex, including Arroyo's residence, where they found an additional 50 decks of heroin, Fontoura said. At the other apartment, another 148 decks of heroin were found and two others—Luis Medero, 41, and Marisol Santiago, 46,—were arrested on narcotics charges. 

On May 20, another surveillance operation at 4th Avenue and N. 9th Street, led to the arrests of Monira Braxton, 31, of Linden, and Anthony Mollison, 18, of East Orange. Ernest Brown, 48, and Antonio Murano, 51, of Belleville, were seen buying drugs, Fontoura said. Officers also seized 49 vials of crack and decks of heroin, Fontoura said.

On May 21, sheriff’s officers staked out three other locations—76 Irving St., 818 Dillard Court and at N. 11th Street and 4th Avenue—leading to a half-dozen additional arrests.

Sheriff’s officers had a search warrant for the Irving Street address, where they witnessed Manuel “Naughty” Bell, 42, call to Samuel Esteves, 45, of Newark, who had just exited a taxi, Fontoura said. After observing Bell and Esteves conduct a drug transaction, Esteves was pulled over and found to be in possession of eight decks of heroin, Fontoura said.

Fontoura said Bell then was seen selling heroin to Omar Gonzalez, 27, and a passenger, Yesenia Gonzalez, 25, also of Newark. When their vehicle was stopped, Gonzalez allegedly punched one of the officers in the face, resulting in a charge of aggravated assault on a police officer as well as charges for narcotics offenses, Fontoura said.

After sheriff’s officers forced their way into Bell’s apartment, they found heroin, crack and drug paraphernalia, Fontoura said.

At Dillard Court at about 5 p.m., Thomas Yashiek, 27, of Newark, was arrested after he was seen selling drugs, Fontoura said. Yashiek was allegedly in possession of 28 envelopes of heroin when he was arrested.

An hour later, at N. 11th Street, Nakki Melvin, 26, of Newark was being watched as an East Orange man, Moses Riddick, 31, approached him, Fontoura said. After the two spoke briefly, Melvin was seen going up an alley and pulling an item from beneath the vinyl siding of a building, Fontoura said. Both men were arrested after Melvin exchanged the item for cash, Fontoura said. Sheriff’s officers later found a stash of crack, marijuana and heroin in the siding, Fontoura said.