Big ruling for Monmouth County, NJ drug trafficker after police misconduct

🔴 Convicted drug supplier scores court win

🔴 Detectives violated the U.S. Constitution, judges ruled

🔴 He also led a heroin ring in the Raritan Bayshore area

OLD BRIDGE — A convicted heroin trafficker may go free because police in Monmouth County didn't obtain a warrant before searching his vehicle for drugs.

Guy Jackson, 52, is serving a sentence of up to 15 years in prison at an out-of-state facility, according to New Jersey Department of Corrections records.

He's not eligible for parole on state charges of heroin and cocaine distribution until April 6, 2030.

However, Jackson has scored a major court win.

On Monday, the appellate division overturned his guilty plea. The judges said police obtained evidence in a manner that was not constitutional.

Search during drug bust in Old Bridge

Though he wasn't sentenced until 2022, Jackson was busted by Old Bridge police back in March 2014.

According to court documents, a confidential informant said to police that a man named "Guy" was a supplier for a drug operation that moved 100 bricks of heroin into New Jersey daily.

While detectives were conducting surveillance on another man connected to the drug enterprise, Jackson pulled up to the man's home in a Mazda. Officers asked him to step out of the vehicle and put his hands on the trunk.

One detective said he smelled marijuana in the car and called to get a warrant to search the vehicle.

Another police sergeant who arrived later decided to search the vehicle before the warrant was obtained.

The sergeant found packets of heroin in the Mazda's glove compartment and a large amount of cash in Jackson's pockets.

While a judge soon granted a warrant to the investigators, he was not told that the search had already begun.

Court rules drug search was illegal

In Monday's decision, the appellate court ruled that the search of Jackson's vehicle was illegal.

The judges said the Old Bridge police officers did not have enough information at the time to reasonably believe Jackson was involved in criminal activity.

As the search was illegal, prosecutors would not be able to use the evidence that police found, including the heroin packets.

Jackson's guilty plea was overturned.

Leader of Raritan Bayshore drug ring

Though Jackson won this battle at the state level, he is also serving 200 months in prison for separate drug charges.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Jackson was the leader of a drug ring that sold heroin and cocaine through the Raritan Bayshore area of Middlesex and northern Monmouth counties.

In 2018, federal authorities charged 15 people in connection with the operation. Jackson was sentenced in late 2021.

Investigators used wiretaps and controlled drug purchases to nab Jackson and his conspirators.

That sentence has not been overturned.

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