Crime & Safety

Trio Face Narcotics, Money Laundering Charges

The three were charged following a traffic stop in Hamilton Township in March.

Three men who were stopped in Hamilton Township by State Police in March have been indicted on a first-degree heroin charge, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced on Tuesday.

The three men charged with first-degree possession of heroin with intent to distribute, second-degree conspiracy, third-degree possession of heroin, and third-degree money laundering were:

·  Miguel Angel Guzman-Nieves, 49, of Houston, Texas;

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·  Jonathan Antistian Jackson, 26, of Edgewater, N.J.; and

·  Hoover Rodriguez, 66, of Houston, Texas.

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Jackson is Guzman-Nieves’ son. His vehicle and Edgewater home were being used in connection with the distribution of the narcotics, according to the New Jersey State Police Drug Trafficking North Unit.

The three men were stopped while traveling south on the New Jersey Turnpike in Hamilton on March 7 of this year. As the result of a consensual search of Jackson’s Cadillac STS they were traveling in, detectives found $34,950 in cash in the vehicle.

Detectives found about two kilograms of heroin in Jackson’s home in an ensuing consensual search.

The state has filed a civil action seeking forfeiture of the Cadillac and the cash seized, which also includes $1,969 in cash found on the defendants, Hoffman said.

The men face 10-20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 for the first degree charge; 5-10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000 for the second degree charge; and 3-5 years in prison and fines of up to $35,000 for the third degree drug possession charge and $500,000 for the third degree money laundering charge.


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