Lawsuit Seeks Confiscated Goods from June Drug Bust

Following a sweep in June that arrested 24 individuals in a drug, gang and weapons ring that began with an investigation into an attempted murder in Morristown last fall, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office has filed a lawsuit that would fofeit the cash, equipment and vehicles that were seized from six of 29 defendants suspected of running the drug operation, distributing or buying narcotics, according to an article in the Daily Record.

State law permits law enforcement authorities to seek forfeiture of money and property they believe were used in the course of, or derived through illegal activity, according to the Daily Record article.

County and municipal representatives from Morris, Warren, Essex and Union counties , where Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi called the bust the largest in county history.

The investigation began following an Oct. 8, 2011 shooting on Abbett Avenue in Morristown that sent two people to the hospital.

A special task force employed intelligent crime analysis and targeted one individual allegedly involved in that 2011 attempted murder, which led to a larger investigation into an extensive gang, gun and drug operation allegedly headed by Rashan “Lil Hick” Caldwell  and  Jamion “Spit” Fenner, Bianchi said. He said they based the operation in Morris county for a time, but had shifted it to Union County.

The investigation lasted seven months, and resulted in the seizure of more than $100,000 in drugs, weapons, vehicles and drug processing and distributing equipment. Caldwell and Fenner are alleged to be affiliated with the Bloods street gang.

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