Drug, hindering counts added to probation charge against Toms River woman

A woman sought for a probation violation, who allegedly hid her identity from Manchester police during a drug search Friday, lands in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River.

Catherine Derosa, 31, of Toms River was apprehended after a search of the car in which she was seated yielded crack cocaine, police said, adding that a search at headquarters produced heroin.

She is one of two women charged with drug possession Friday by the township's Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET) in separate investigations.

Started as a driving infraction

Police orignially pulled the 2015 Honda Accord into a Route 37 parking lot at about 6:45 PM, for allegedly turning without signaling on Northampton Boulevard.

Derosa was a passenger in the car driven by Joseph Patalano, 75, who shares the same Toms River address as Derosa.

According to police, items common to heroin use were in plain view inside the car, prompting the search, during which authorities said she provided a name different from her own to avoid arrest on an Ocean County no-bail warrant for a probation violation.

Patalano was not charged. Derosa faces two possession counts and a charge of hindering apprehension.

Complaints lead to bust on Commonwealth Boulevard

Township police say that several complaints about suspected drug activity at a Commonwealth Boulevard house led to Friday night's arrest of Eleanor Reardon, 50, and seizure of the pain-killing opiate Suboxone, along with items associated with heroin use.

Officers approached the house at about 8 PM and addressed the complaints with Reardon, then uncovered the contraband during a search of the dwelling, police said.

After being charged with possession of Suboxone, drug paraphernalia and hypodermic needles, Reardon was transferred to the Ocean County Jail in default of $5,000 bail.

Members of the township patrol and K9 squads were involved in the investigations.

Information about suspected or actual drug activity can be reported to Manchester police anonymously and confidentially through their tip line portal, or at 732-657-6111.

Charges are accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless, and until, found guilty in a court of law.