On Wednesday, February 29, 2012, at approximately 4 p.m., members of the Roselle Park Police Department Detective Bureau stopped a vehicle on the 200 block of East Westfield Avenue and arrested the passenger on an outstanding warrant for distribution of CDS / marijuana. The warrant was secured earlier in the day after detectives observed the passenger, Thomas J. Belles, age 19 of Roselle Park, engaged in a drug transaction near his home on Columbus Place. Bail was set on that warrant at $15,000.
Belles was then led back to his house where a search of his room revealed a lock box containing over 40 bags of suspected marijuana packaged for sale. The room also contained two (2) electronic scales, a metal pipe, and other packaging material as well as a small amount of U.S. currency. Mr. Belles was then transported to Roselle Park Police Headquarters where he was processed and charged with the following:
- Possession with the intent to distribute marijuana [2C:35-5(b)(11)]
- Possession with the intent to distribute marijuana within 500 feet of a park [2C:35-7.1]
- Possession of drug paraphernalia [2C:36-2]
With bail set at $35,000, Mr. Belles was transported to the Union County Jail pending an appearance in Union County Superior Court.