Toms River Man Sentenced In Heroin Distribution Case

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River man has been sentenced to 10 years state prison in connection with a heroin distribution case in Ocean County, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Friday.

Zachary D. Lockwood, 25, was sentenced Friday by Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan to 1o years in prison on a charge of possession of a half-ounce or more of heroin with intent to distribute, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

In addition, Ryan sentenced Lockwood to five years in prison with five years of parole ineligibility on a charge of being a certain person not to possess a weapon, Billhimer said, and to time served on a charge of resisting arrest in an investigation that happened in July and August 2023.

Ryan sentenced Lockwood to five years in prison for his guilty plea to eluding in an unrelated incident on Sept. 26, 2023 in Toms River, Billhimer said. Lockwood pleaded guilty to the charges in February.

All of the sentences are to run concurrently.

The investigation in July and August 2023 by the Toms River Police Department's Special Enforcement Team identified Lockwood as someone distributing heroin in Ocean County, Billhimer said.

On Aug. 29, detectives saw Lockwood leave his home and stop at a CVS on Hooper Avenue. As he came out of the store, they approached him and then executed a search warrant on his vehicle, seizing 215 wax folds of heroin, authorities said. As they tried to arrest Lockwood, he resisted but eventually was taken into custody, they said.

They then executed the search warrant on Lockwood's home and seized about 2,000 wax folds of heroin and a .40-caliber handgun with ammunition. He was taken to the Ocean County Jail but later released under New Jersey bail reform rules.

The eluding charge resulted when Lockwood sped off when Toms River police officers tried to pull him over after he ran a red light at Fischer Boulevard and Route 37 on Sept. 26, authorities said.

As officers tried to stop him, Lockwood took off at high speed, driving recklessly northbound on Fischer Boulevard and kept going at high speed through residential areas on the east side of Fischer Boulevard.

As he tried to turn back onto Fischer Boulevard, his vehicle hit a curb and came to rest in the middle of the road. Officers approached the vehicle and found Lockwood behind the wheel, and arrested him. He has been in the Ocean County jail since, the prosecutor's office said.