Crime & Safety
Toms River Man Sentenced To 15 Months In Cocaine Case
Jason Vella, 39, was arrested in 2019 and in October 2020 pleaded guilty to cocaine possession with intent to distribute.
TRENTON, NJ — A Toms River man has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced Friday.
Jason Vella, 39, had pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton to oone count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Thompson imposed the sentence by videoconference on Friday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Vella was charged after investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office executed a search warrant at his home on Sept. 19, 2019, and recovered 150 grams of cocaine, drug paraphernalia, $2,295 in cash and pieces of jewelry.
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In addition to the prison term, Thompson sentenced Vella to three years of supervised release.
Honig credited the members of the FBI’s Organized Crime Task Force under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; and investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.
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