Man With Duffel Bag Full Of Drugs At Union County Mall Sentenced

UNION COUNTY, NJ — An Arizona man was sentenced to 46 months in prison Wednesday for trying to sell fentanyl in the Jersey Gardens Mall parking lot, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig announced.

Jose Manuel Ramos Lemus, 51, a citizen of Mexico residing in Arizona, previously pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

On July 6, 2019, Ramos Lemus went to the Jersey Gardens Mall parking lot and told a confidential informant that he had five kilograms of China White heroin for sale, according to documents filed in this case and statements made in court.

Ramos Lemus brought a duffle bag containing five kilograms of fentanyl and was arrested.

In addition to the prison term, Ramos Lemus will need to complete three years of supervised release.

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