2003 Media Releases:

CAMDEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE
VINCENT P. SARUBBI, CAMDEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR
MEDIA   INFORMATION

January 31, 2003

Camden County Prosecutor Vincent P. Sarubbi announced that members of the Juvenile Unit of his office, while serving a bench warrant on a 12-year-old today, arrested the boy and charged him with Possession with the Intent to Distribute a Controlled Dangerous Substance, specifically crack cocaine.

Officers found the juvenile in possession of 12 bags of the drug, with a total estimated street value of $120, as well as $144 cash. He is charged with Possession of CDS, Possession with Intent to Distribute and Possession with Intent to Distribute Within 1,000 Feet of a School. He is being held at the Camden County Youth Center in Blackwood pending a Family Court hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

The defendant's name is being withheld because of his age.

Officers assigned to serve bench warrants on juvenile defendants went to the 12-year-old's home in the 900 block of South 8th Street in Camden this morning because the juvenile had failed to appear for an earlier court hearing on a charge of Receiving Stolen Property. That charged was lodged in November 2000 when the boy was allegedly found in possession of a stolen car in Camden. He was 10 at the time.

During the course of taking the juvenile defendant into custody today on the bench warrant, officers found the drugs on his person.

"This arrest is a profoundly disturbing example of how deep the drug trade is embedded in the city of Camden," Sarubbi said. "While law enforcement is a critical component of public safety for city residents, these allegations underscore the need to address the underlying social and economic ills that plague the city."

All persons charged with criminal offenses are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.