Bloomfield man arraigned on weapons, drug charges

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A previously convicted felon was arraigned Jan. 8 on multiple weapons and drug charges following his arrest Thursday, Jan. 7, by a law-enforcement task force comprised of Essex County sheriff’s detectives and officers from the Bloomfield and Irvington police departments.

Sheriff Armando Fontoura stated that the task force officers, armed with a search warrant for the basement studio apartment at 622-624 Bloomfield Ave., in Bloomfield, spotted and detained the target of their investigation, Eugene Liles, 40, as he exited his residence at 6:25 p.m. on Thursday.

“For officer safety, Liles was the subject of a pat-down search and he was found to be in possession of eight Ziploc bags of cocaine,” Sheriff Fontoura noted.

Upon entering the residence, the officers observed several surveillance cameras outside the apartment.
“On a computer console with a video recording device, our officers seized a fully loaded 9 mm Glock and .45 caliber Republic Arms semi-automatic handguns,” Fontoura said. “A desk in the apartment yielded a brown paper bag containing more than 78 grams of uncut cocaine and a wide assortment of drug packaging and processing materials.”

Liles was charged with two counts each of the unlawful possession of a weapon and the possession of a weapon while committing a narcotics crime. The suspect was also charged with possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a CDS with the intent to distribute, possession of a CDS with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of Bloomfield High School, possession of a CDS with intent to distribute within 500 feet of Venner Park, possession of narcotics paraphernalia, and the maintenance of a fortified premises.

Liles was also found to be the subject of an open warrant issued by the Bloomfield municipal court.
At the arraignment, Liles was ordered to be held at the Essex County jail in lieu of $500,000 cash bond only.

In a comment regarding the arrest, Bloomfield Police Director Samuel DeMaio commended the work of the task force. He further noted how valuable the partnership is between the BPD and the Sheriff’s Department. That partnership, he said, enables the Bloomfield Police Department to take narcotics investigations “to the next level.” DeMaio said the hard work of these men and women continues to improve the quality of life in the township.