March 23, 10

NEWS / Man from Aruba Sentenced to State Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Eight Kilograms of Heroin

Co-Defendant Previously Sentenced to 10 Years in State Prison

TRENTON –Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that a man from Aruba has been sentenced to state prison for conspiring to distribute eight kilograms of heroin.

Daury Rodriguez, 23, of Aruba, was sentenced Friday (March 19) to 10 years in state prison with three and a half years of parole ineligibility by Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan in Morris County.

On Nov. 6, Romona Rodriguez-Tejada, 51, of Brooklyn, NY, was also ordered to serve 10 years in state prison with 40 months parole ineligibility. The sentences were based on the defendants’ Aug. 7, 2009 guilty pleas to one count of conspiracy and one count of possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute, charges contained in a May 30, 2008 state grand jury indictment.

In pleading guilty, the defendants admitted that between Dec. 24, 2007 and March 7, 2008, they conspired to sell at least five ounces of heroin. An investigation determined that the defendants conspired to sell eight kilograms of heroin in Secaucus. The heroin has a street value of approximately $1.5 million. Rodriguez-Tejada admitted that on Jan. 9, 2008, she was in possession of the eight kilograms of heroin which she and Daury Rodriguez were attempting to sell. As the result of an undercover investigation, Rodriguez-Tejada was arrested that day by the New Jersey State Police after they conducted a consensual search of a bag containing the drugs. Daury Rodriguez was arrested on March 7, 2008.

Detectives from the New Jersey State Police conducted the investigation. Deputy Attorney General Philip J. Mogavero prosecuted the case for the Division of Criminal Justice and represented the Division at the sentencings.

http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases10/pr20100322a.html

Tags: police conduct,