Two suspects were arraigned today on multiple drug and assault charges following their arrests on Wednesday evening by Essex County sheriff’s detectives and officers from the Bloomfield and Irvington police departments.
Sheriff Armando Fontoura stated that detectives from his department’s Bureau of Narcotics supervised a plainclothes surveillance detail at the intersection of Crane and Webster streets in Newark’s North Ward yesterday at 5:30 p.m. in response to numerous neighborhood complaints of drug trafficking in the area.
“While at that location our law enforcement task force observed a 2005 Jaguar pull into the parking lot of a nearby laundromat,” Sheriff Fontoura said. “Here, the driver, later identified as Khalil ‘Lil’ Palmer, 33, and his passenger, 29-year-old Terrance ‘Redman’ Dix were observed examining the contents of a black plastic bag.”
Moving in to investigate further, the BON task force detectives positioned their unmarked vehicles so that the Jaguar was boxed in.
“In announcing our presence, Palmer grabbed the plastic bag and threw it into the back seat area where much of its contents spilled out,” Fontoura added. "Palmer then put his car into gear and repeated slammed it into two of our police vehicles.”
After a brief struggle with Palmer and Dix, both suspects were extricated from the Jaguar and handcuffed.
“The plastic bag was found to contain 999 heroin-filled glassine envelops, stamped 'BONECRUSHER’ in green ink, and a prescription bottle with the label removed that contained 319 liquid grams of Promethazine, a codeine syrup,” Sheriff Fontoura noted. “Palmer was also found to have an additional three decks of similarly marked heroin on his person.”
Palmer and Dix were both charged with two counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of CDS with intent to distribute and possession of CDS with intent to distribute within 1000 feet of Barringer Ninth Grade Academy.
Both men were also charged with conspiracy to violate New Jersey’s narcotics laws.
Palmer was additionally charged with four counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and one count each of the unlawful possession of a weapon (the car), possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and resisting arrest. He was also issued a summons for possession of CDS in a motor vehicle.
Suspect Dix was also found to the subject an open warrant for willful non-support that was issued by the Essex County Superior Court vicinage.
At today’s arraignment, Palmer and Dix were ordered to be held at the county jail in lieu of $200,000 cash bond only on each suspect.