Police Corner Man Jumping From Window Carrying Handguns, Cocaine, Molly

An Essex County man was caught leaping out of a window and on to the rooftop of an adjacent building with a backpack containing loaded handguns and large amounts of cocaine and the street drug MDMA also known as “molly,” acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park stated Friday.

Union County Police and the Essex County Sheriff Office’s SWAT team cornered Jefferey Croucher, 33, of Newark, as he was leaping out of a third story window at a Tremont Ave., Newark home.

Police seized the backpack Croucher was carrying which contained the three guns and large amounts of narcotics, Park stated.

Police were able to locate Croucher as a result of a related investigation in Union County. Trent Dillon, 28, also of Newark, was arrested after Police pulled over a taxi Dillon was travelling in on Morris Ave. in Union Township.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit was subsequently requested, after which a police dog alerted handlers to the presence of drugs in a backpack that was in possession of Dillon at the time.

A search of the backpack turned up approximately two ounces of cocaine, after which Dillon was arrested and transported to the Union County Police Department for processing.

The investigation subsequently led detectives to the Tremont Ave., Newark home where Police arrested Jefferey Croucher.

>> More Stories: Union County Residents Caught With $37,500 In Heroin, Cocaine

A subsequent search of the Tremont Avenue home, conducted with the assistance of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, turned up approximately 450 rounds of ammunition for eight different types of firearms, including hollow-point ammunition, plus a bulletproof vest, several high-capacity gun magazines, approximately two pounds of marijuana, small quantities of heroin, scales and packaging materials used for the processing and distribution of narcotics, and approximately $6,900 in cash.

Trent Dillon, 28, and Jeffrey Croucher, 33, both of Newark, are charged with first-degree possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute, three second-degree drug offenses, four second-degree weapons offenses, six third-degree drug offenses, three fourth-degree weapons offenses, and a third-degree charge of receiving stolen property.

If convicted, Croucher and Dillon could serve up to 20 years in prison for the first degree charge of possession, and up to 10 years for the second degree weapons offenses.

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