Resident Caught with Drugs, Stolen Van

Matthew Hersh

A Green Street man was arrested Monday, December 22, in response to the report of the theft of a delivery van belonging to Bon Appetit, the gourmet food shop located at the Princeton Shopping Center, according to the Princeton Township Police Department.

Amefika Edwards was arrested in the Redding Circle public housing development while driving the van.

The van was reported stolen at 10 a.m., and was allegedly taken the previous night, according to Sgt. Jack Petrone. Once found, Township Police discovered inside the van 17 bags of heroin, crack cocaine, a small amount of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia.

"There have been two incidents involving this particular fellow," Sgt. Petrone said.

In addition to several charges of possession of narcotics, Mr. Edwards has also been charged with credit card left for allegedly stealing credit cards from one of his co-workers at the Petco store in the Princeton Shopping Center.

Sgt. Petrone also cited an investigation in progress regarding the theft of credit cards stolen from a private Princeton residence." All of these [previous] cases unraveled subsequent to [Mr. Edward's] arrest," he said.

Sgt. Petrone said all holders of the stolen credit cards have been notified.

Due to his proximity to the public housing development at the time of his arrest‹within 500 feet‹Mr. Edwards' charges were automatically increased from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony, a charge that, if found guilty, could carry a five- to 10-year sentence for Mr. Edwards.

"It's a pretty serious charge," Sgt. Petrone said.

Additionally, Mr. Edwards was charged with the intent to distribute the narcotics.

"With the amount [of drugs] he had, it was obvious it was not for his own personal use," he said.