SEARCH BY SHERIFF’S OFFICERS AND CANINE LEAD TO DRUG ARREST

The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office made a significant arrest after the agency’s drug sniffing dog indicated there were narcotics in a vehicle they pulled over for a traffic stop in Keyport on March 29th. Sheriff’s Officers Sean O’Neill and Henry Muller were serving warrants when they spotted an individual who failed to signal and stop at a stop sign. The driver, Jamil Hill, 33, of South Amboy, was pulled over for the motor vehicle stop at the intersection of Hurley Street and Green Grove Avenue. Due to the fact that there was contradictory information as to where the vehicle came from, and, that items in the vehicle known to be associated with drug trafficking were observed, as well as Hill’s criminal history involving CDS distribution offenses, the Sheriff’s Office narcotics K-9 team was called in to assist. Once Sheriff’s Officer Kurt Kroeper and his canine Evan walked around the car, the canine indicated that narcotics were present.

After the vehicle was seized and a search warrant was issued, 60 decks of suspected heroin and 8 grams of suspected crack cocaine were found.

Hill was arrested on the night of April 1st at his home in South Amboy. He was released from the Monmouth County Correctional Institution on $30,000 bail.

Hill’s charges include possession of CDS, possession with intent to distribute, possession within 500 feet of a public park and possession within 1000 feet of a school zone. Also assisting with the investigation were Sheriff’s Officers Thomas Ruocco and Alex Torres.

“I commend all the officers involved for their quick and decisive actions. This arrest reaffirms that our highly trained narcotics canine teams are a great asset when it comes to combating the proliferation of narcotics in Monmouth County,” said Sheriff Shaun Golden.

From 2010 to date the narcotics canine team has responded to 151 calls, narcotics were located in 98 of those calls.