NJ couple charged with running illegal weed operation in home

LACEY — An Ocean County couple has been arrested and charged with running a marijuana growing operation at their home.

According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, John Vincentini and his wife Karen, both 64 of Lacey, were charged with the manufacture and distribution of between five and 25 pounds of marijuana, plus weapons offenses and financial facilitation.

On March 15, 2024, residents contacted the police after a package of marijuana was delivered to their residence in a re-purposed Amazon box, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Investigators said John Vincentini delivered the box to the residence.

Six days later, detectives got a search warrant on the Vincentini residence and found 10 pounds of marijuana, 15 marijuana plants, drug paraphernalia associated with the packaging and distribution of narcotics, two assault firearms, a rifle-style BB gun, and approximately $150,000 in cash.

The Vincentinis were arrested at their home and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where they are presently lodged pending a detention hearing.

John Vincentini is no stranger to the law. In September 2022, he was charged with bias intimidation and terroristic threats after asking an Amazon delivery driver whether he wanted to be shot in the head for entering his “racist neighborhood,” according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

They said Vincentini, then 62, followed the driver into a cul-de-sac and parked his vehicle in an attempt to block the driver. Vincentini confronted the driver, asked why he was in the neighborhood, and then asked whether the driver knew he was in a racist neighborhood, police said. Vincentini asked the driver whether he wanted him to get his rifle from his car and shoot the driver in the head. The Amazon driver drove off and called the police.

Vincentini turned himself in in October 2022 and was released on a summons.