New Brunswick Men Charged in Heroin Ring Bust

Editor's Note: The following information is a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan announced Friday that an Elizabeth man has pleaded guilty to charges of operating a drug trafficking ring that possessed $400,000 worth of heroin destined for distribution to customers in Middlesex and Somerset counties.

Johnel Dunlap, 41, admitted a first degree count of being the leader of a narcotics trafficking network that was shut down on March 26, 2010, following an intensive investigation that ended with the arrest of nine individuals, including Dunlap and two of his top-level distributors.

The nine defendants were arrested following a series of court-ordered
searches in which investigators from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s
Office and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, as well as police from
local departments including New Brunswick and Franklin Township, seized
more than 10 ounces of heroin valued at $400,000.

Dunlap pleaded guilty to the first degree offense during a hearing at
the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick before Superior Court
Judge Bradley Ferencz on September 27, 2012.

Dunlap also pleaded guilty to a second degree statute that prohibits
certain persons from possessing firearms. He admitted he had a 9mm pistol
during a search of his home and automobiles in Elizabeth on March 26,
2010, even though he previously had been convicted and incarcerated for
drug offenses in 2003.

Under the terms of a plea agreement reached with Middlesex County
Assistant Prosecutor Christine D’Elia and Middlesex County Assistant
Prosecutor Akesha Williams, the defendant will be sentenced on November
13, 2012, to serve 30 years in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years.

Dunlap was represented during the court hearing by Richard Roberts
and Kenyatta K. Stewart, both defense attorneys from Newark.

Also pleading guilty during the hearing were Dunlap’s brother,
William Newbill, 32, also of Elizabeth, and Ernest Bates, 36, of New Brunswick.

Newbill and Bates each pleaded guilty to a second degree count
of conspiring to distribute a controlled dangerous substance and a first
degree count of distributing heroin. They are scheduled to be sentenced on
December 3, 2012.

Newbill will be sentenced to serve 20 years in a New Jersey state
prison and will not be eligible for parole until he serves 62 months.

Bates will be sentenced to an 18-year prison term, with no chance of
parole for 50 months.

The drug trafficking ring was initially uncovered during an
investigation that was begun by authorities in Somerset County in October
2009.

A Middlesex County grand jury subsequently charged the nine
defendants with drug offenses, contending they distributed and conspired to
distribute various quantities of heroin to residents in the two counties.

Investigators also determined that Newbill and Bates regularly
obtained heroin from Dunlap, and then distributed it to other individuals
named in the indictment that was handed up by the grand jury on July 31,
2010.

Since the indictment was handed up, five others named in the true
bill have pleaded guilty to various drug offenses and, as part of their plea
agreements, were prepared to testify against Dunlap, Newbill and Bates.

In exchange, they will be sentenced to various terms ranging from
probation to prison terms for their participation in the drug trafficking ring.

Jose Moldonado, 31, of the Somerset section of Franklin
Township pleaded guilty on November 1, 2011, to second degree counts

of possession of heroin and conspiracy to distribute heroin. He will be
sentenced to a six-year prison term on November 26, 2012.

Joseph Mosley, 29, of New Brunswick pleaded guilty on
September 13, 2012, to second degree counts of possession with intent to
distribute heroin and conspiracy to distribute.

He also admitted a count of being a certain person not to have a
weapon, noting he had a prior drug conviction. He will be sentenced to 15
years and must serve at least five years before he can become eligible for
parole.

Wilkins Gonzalez, 36, of New Brunswick pleaded guilty on April 7, 2011, to a second degree conspiracy count and a third degree count of possession with intent to distribute heroin. He will be sentenced on November 5, 2012, to five-year prison term and will be required to serve at least two years before he can be eligible for parole.

Richard Daggett, 34, of the Parlin section of Sayreville was admitted to a drug court rehabilitation program after pleading guilty to a third degree conspiracy count.

Patricia Miller, 54, of North Brunswick pleaded guilty on February 23, 2011, to a third degree possession charge and will be placed on probation for up to three years when she is sentenced on October 15, 2012.

Jennifer Salagaj, 28, of the Parlin section of Sayreville was admitted to a pretrial probationary program after she was charged with conspiracy, possession, distribution and possession with intent to distribute. The charges will be dismissed if she completes PreTrial Intervention (PTI) successfully.

The remaining defendant, Alexis Melendez, 34, of New Brunswick, fled after posting bail and remains at large.

Anyone with information on Melendez is asked to call the Middlesex
County Prosecutor’s Fugitive Task Force at (732) 745-3300.