Marino Pimentel-Tejada, 35, of Paterson, N.J., the top ring member, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with 39 months of parole ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge Marilyn C. Clark in Paterson. He pleaded guilty in February to a first-degree charge of maintaining a heroin production facility.
Each of the following three co-defendants was sentenced today by Judge Clark to five years in prison. They pleaded guilty in Feburary to second-degree conspiracy to maintain a heroin production facility.
Deputy Attorney General Brandy Malfitano prosecuted the defendants for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau. She was assisted at the sentencing hearings by Deputy Attorney General Omari Reid. The defendants were indicted in an investigation by the New Jersey State Police Trafficking North Bureau targeting the distribution of large quantities of heroin in the Paterson area by a ring controlled by Marino Pimentel-Tejada.
A fifth defendant, Robert Grady, 40, of Paterson, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and faces a recommended sentence of five years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24.
“By putting these large-scale suppliers in prison and dismantling their heroin mill, the State Police cut off a major source of heroin in the region and undoubtedly saved lives,” said Attorney General Porrino. “My office will continue to aggressively prosecute anyone who profits through selling this agent of addiction and death into our communities.”
“Paterson is a regional hub for heroin distribution and these were major suppliers we took out of commission,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We’ll continue to work with the New Jersey State Police and other law enforcement partners to disrupt this deadly commerce.”
“All too often, these mills are not only responsible for manufacturing the poison that is heroin, but they are responsible for the violence that goes hand-in hand with drug trafficking,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “We will continue to shut these mills down, arrest those responsible, and work with our partners to ensure successful prosecution.”
Detectives initially charged Marino Pimentel-Tejada on June 1, 2016, when they arrested him in a vehicle with Grady with 135 bricks of heroin on 28th Street in Paterson. Each brick consists of approximately 50 single-dose glassines of heroin. Grady also was in possession of several methamphetamine pills. The State Police subsequently executed search warrants for the residence of Marino Pimentel-Tejada in the 1100 block of East 24th Street in Paterson as well as his vehicle. Detectives discovered a heroin milling operation inside his home, including a table overflowing with glassines containing heroin, as well as numerous boxes containing empty glassines. Detectives seized approximately 79 grams of raw heroin, 3,791 glassines of heroin, grinders, sifters, a digital scale, empty glassines, and other packaging materials. In Marino’s car, detectives found more than $20,000 in cash, as well as a handgun and a shotgun contained inside a concealed hydraulic compartment. In total, the State Police seized more than 300 grams of heroin and more than $55,000 in cash in the investigation. In March, a judge signed an order requiring the forfeiture of Marino’s car and a second vehicle with a hidden compartment that was seized in the investigation, along with all of the cash that was seized.
Attorney General Porrino commended the detectives who conducted the investigation for the New Jersey State Police Trafficking North Bureau, as well as Deputy Attorneys General Malfitano and Reid.
Defense Attorneys
For Marino Pimentel-Tejada: Harley Breite, Esq., of Paterson, N.J.
For Yinsys Pimentel-Tejada: Ron Bar-Nadav, Esq., of Hackensack, N.J.
For Manuel Garcia-Tejada: Gregory Aprile, Esq., Wayne, N.J.
For Nuris Domiguez-Lara: Steven Braun, Esq., of East Brunswick, N.J.
For Robert Grady: Alan Bowman, Esq., of Newark, N.J.
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