Freehold Man Enters Guilty Plea in Bayshore Heroin Ring Case

The last four defendants in a 25-person heroin ring based in the Bayshore have pleaded guilty on drug charges, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Peter E. Warshaw Jr. announced in a press release issued Wednesday.

The drug trafficking group, including Joel Benitez, 27, of Freehold, sold approximately $25,000 worth of heroin per week, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

The group led by 32-year-old Matawan resident Dectric Rawls included Benitez; Dectric Rawls; Daryel Rawls, 31, of Lakewood; and Brandon Vashey, 23, of Middletown, were among the 25 arrested on charges stemming from a 2009 investigation into the heroin trafficking organization.

On April 30, Dectric Rawls acknowledged he was the leader of the drug ring, the release stated. The first-degree crime carries a mandatory life sentence, 25 years of which must be served before he is eligible for parole. Dectric Rawls also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm; one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance; two counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute; one count of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance; and one count of possession.

Daryel Rawls, brother of Dectric Rawls, pleaded guilty on May 15 to possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, according to the release. He faces up to eight years in prison.

On May 1, Vashey pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute a controlled dangerous substance and distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. He also faces an eight-year prison sentence.

Benitez also entered a guilty plea on May 1. He was charged with disarming a law enforcement officer and faces a six-year sentence. The release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Benitez stated Benitez was taken into custody on Oct. 8, 2009 after purchasing heroin from Dectric Rawls. Benitez struggled and tried to take an officer’s weapon when he was arrested, according to prosecutors.

The 2009 investigation into the drug ring involved the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office’s Bayshore Unit, the Old Bridge Police Department, the Sayreville Police Department, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lakewood Police Department. The office’s Bayshore Unit is comprised of members of the Keansburg, Union Beach, Atlantic Highlands, Highlands, Hazlet, Matawan, Keyport, Middletown, Aberdeen and Holmdel Police Departments. Dectric Rawls and 18 associates were arrested and charged on various drug offenses on Nov. 16, 2009. Six other individuals were later identified as being involved with the heroin ring and charged, according to the release.

Authorities seized more than 90 bricks of heroin, an automatic handgun and more than $290,000.

The Rawls brothers and Benitez will be sentenced on July 13 in . Vashey will be sentenced on June 22.