$5K in Crack, Heroin Seized During Arrests Sunday

Narcotics detectives from the Essex County Sheriff’s Office arrested three people Sunday in a North Ward neighborhood that residents say is rife with drug-dealing, Sheriff Armando Fontoura said.

Detectives staked out the corner of 4th Avenue and N. 12 Street, where they watched as Shawn Seldon, 42, approached Tevin Wiley, 21, then gave him cash in exchange for an item, Fontoura said. Seldon was stopped after leaving the scene and arrested when officers found him in possession of a glassine envelope of heroin stamped with the word “Iraq.”

Two other men at the corner, Matthew Majette and Shawn Rouse, both 21, were also seen repeatedly entering a parked Honda Accord and selling items from a purple handbag, Fontoura said.

Officers moved in and quickly arrested Rouse and Wiley. Majette, meanwhile, threw the bag from the car and tried to run. When officers brought him to the ground, Majette reportedly tried to punch and kick them until he was handcuffed, Fontoura said.

Wiley was found to be in possession of an additional nine glassine envelopes of heroin, also stamped “IRAQ," Fontoura said. The handbag contained 436 decks of heroin and 58 vials of crack cocaine worth an estimated $5,000, Fontoura said.

Wiley, Majette, Rouse and Seldon were all arraigned Monday on narcotics charges. Majette was also charged with assaulting a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.