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Police Arrest Suspected Heroin Dealer in River Plaza Section of Middletown

The 24-year old Middletown resident is now in the county jail.

Middletown Police have arrested an alleged heroin dealer in the River Plaza section of Middletown and charged him with several offenses.

A search warrant was executed at the home of Bartlett Lentini, age 24, of Carpenter Street by the Middletown Police Detective Bureau and Quality of Life Unit on Friday.

Lentini was arrested and charged with:

  • possession of heroin
  • possession of heroin with the intent to distribute
  • possession of heroin with the intent to distribute within 500 feet of a public park
  • possession of drug paraphernalia
  • possession of hypodermic syringes

He is being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Facility in Freehold, NJ on $70,000 bail set by Judge Thomas Scully of the Monmouth County Superior Court.

Police say that the search warrant and arrest were the result of a monthlong investigation conducted by Officer Raymond Sofield and Det. Kevin Gardiner into the distribution of a significant amount of heroin, allegedly from the residence by Lentini.

Carpenter Street is off Hubbard Avenue. River Plaza is on the Red Bank border.

steve santarseri December 10, 2012 at 03:58 pm
Throw the book and the kitchen sink at him
Jack Spratt December 10, 2012 at 04:04 pm
Bartlett is getting coal in his stocking this year. That and a prison sentence.
Shoregal December 10, 2012 at 04:26 pm
Good job! Keep up the good police work!!!
Khalid Bin Abdel Rehman Al-Hussainan December 10, 2012 at 04:30 pm
Legalize it. It will still flow from the fields in Afghanistan. The war on drugs was lost decades ago.
stevie December 11, 2012 at 02:03 am
To Sofield and Gardiner, thank you!
CapitalistPig December 13, 2012 at 05:22 pm
I am a good friend of his family. They are in pain too. You people are so cold, and this kid is merely an addict that was trying to support his unfortunate habit, he needs serious rehab, not prison.
Hilton Parker December 13, 2012 at 06:23 pm
I don't doubt that he needs serious rehab, but he DESERVES prison. It'll give him time to think about how many lives may have been destroyed by HIS dealing, and hopefully deter him from making the same mistake twice. I do feel sorry for his parents though, assuming they're still in the picture.
kevin m December 15, 2012 at 03:01 pm
Frustrating it is, but addiction is a SERIOUS EPIDEMIC all over. No doubt the young man needs treatment. Nobody wants to inject heroin he no longer has a choice. However its not a victim less crime. From dealing the drugs all the way down to the junkie breaking into cars for loose change or robbing the old ladies purse. He must pay a consequence and get treatment. Maybe drug court would work
Jane Doh December 16, 2012 at 07:01 pm
Kevin: Sorry but he has a choice. He may not feel as though he does. He needs an 18 month program or jail, otherwise we will be reading his obituary. Drug court will help IF he wants it to work. Sad
Gary Junstrom December 30, 2012 at 05:08 pm
Give me a break. Drug dealers are monsters who destroy lives and weaken society. The quicker they are removed from the planet, the better off we will all be. And stop with the "he's sick"nonsense. People who have cancer, MS, diabetes, etc. Are sick. A heroin germ doesn't come out of the air to infect addicts.
beaachbunny May 31, 2013 at 07:52 pm
Gary, you make me sick.

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