Cops: Drug homes busted, 5 arrested in Monmouth, Ocean counties

Four Monmouth County residents and a man from Ocean County have been charged following searches of multiple residences that resulted in seizures of drugs and cash, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Several agencies from across the two counties collaborated on the effort, which included surveillance of the subject residences in South Toms River, Brick, and Long Branch.

The homes in Brick and South Toms River were being utilized by Octavaeous Jenkins, 49, to store and distribute cocaine, and the residence in Long Branch was being utilized by Ralph Durand, 56, Krystal Villano, 36, Emily Durand, 53, and Jaiden Durand, 18, to store and distribute cocaine, the prosecutor's office said.

Two of the suspects were arrested on May 9 after the two had met in Monmouth County, the prosecutor's office said. The others were nabbed follow the execution of search warrants on the homes.

Across the searches, law enforcement seized approximately 1.25 kilograms of cocaine, $56,000 in cash, 20 grams of crack cocaine, and 50 dosage units of heroin, the prosecutor's office said.

Detectives also seized more than $488,000 from the personal bank accounts of Villano and Ralph Durand, officials said.

Dino Flammia is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com

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Places in NJ where gun owners have sued to carry a legal gun

New Jersey passed its own law in December, trying to ban legal guns from “sensitive places.”

A federal judge found many of those spots to be legally protected on grounds of armed self-defense, noting in her opinion, “Crowded locations are not sensitive places."

As of June, a federal appeals court granted the state attorney general's request to keep part of the law that bars people from carrying handguns in “sensitive places” in effect.

The decision means handguns cannot be carried in places such as zoos, public parks, public libraries and museums, bars, and health care facilities.

The law bars handguns from being carried in those places as well as schools and child care facilities. The lower court's May injunction did not specify those locations, and the appeals court also didn't remove the prohibition in those places.

Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt & The Associated Press