Three Essex Men Arraigned on Drug Charges

Three Essex County men were charged with multiple drug offenses and arraigned on Thursday morning, Feb. 19, police said.

Luis Hernandez, 50, of Newark, Andres Sosa, 28, of Closter, and Juan Abreu, 32, were arrested on Wednesday evening after Essex County Sheriff’s detectives executed a search warrant for a bodega at Orange and Nesbitt streets in Newark, according to the Essex County Sheriff’s Office.

Hernandez and Sosa, both of whom are employed at the bodega, were arrested in the back room of the store after being found in possession of Oxycodone and Endocet tablets. Abreu, owner of the bodega, was also arrested after authorities found another plastic bag containing Oxycodone tablets on the floor of the store, the sheriff’s office said.

The three men were each charged with two counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, possession of CDS with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of Newark Collegiate School and possession of CDS with intent to distribute within 500 feet of Branch Brook Park, according to the Essex County Sheriff’s Office. The men were also charged with conspiracy.

The three Essex men were arraigned and are each being held at the county jail on $75,000 cash bond only.