On January 21, 2011 at around 3 p.m., the police responded to the 400 block of East Westfield Avenue on a report on an unresponsive male. Upon arrival the caller, Denise Rapuano, age 37, of Roselle Park directed police to a bedroom where a male appeared to be in distress.
Roselle Park First Aid Squad and Monmouth Ocean Hospital Service Corporation (MONOC) paramedics responded and attended to the male and transported the victim to Lyons V.A. Hospital in East Orange, NJ.
An investigation by Detective Hussam Assad led to the discovery of a clear plastic zip-lock bag containing a white powdery substance suspected to be cocaine; four (4) small clear plastic zip-lock bags with suspected cocaine; four (4) loose orange pills; two (2) small glass pipes with burned residue; and copper fillings in the possession of Rapuano.
Rapuano was arrested by Detective Assad and charged with 2C:35-10(a)(1) (possession of cocaine), 2C:36-2 (possession of drug paraphernalia), and 2C:29-3(b)(4) (hindering apprehension) for giving a false name to police. Rapuano was committed to Union County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail with a Superior Court date of January 28, 2011.