One of the men allegedly tried to flush the narcotics down the toilet after police arrived at the 99¢ Zone on Clinton Avenue Wednesday
NEWARK - A trio of city men were arrested Wednesday after being caught dealing drugs out of a South Ward discount store, authorities said.
Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said officers with his Bureau of Narcotics teamed with Irvington to police to conduct surveillance outside the 99C/ Zone store at 303 Clinton Avenue.
They looked on as James Harris, Fabian Daniels and Clifton Darby rotated in shifts outside the store. A woman eventually approached Harris around 1 p.m., and before long Darby had emerged from the store to hand her a small package in exchange for cash.
PLUS: Newark teen was armed with handgun, police say
Officers quickly moved in, sending Harris running into a fortified room in the back of the store, buying him time to get rid of narcotics the trio had stashed inside, according to Fontoura.
"It took a full five minutes to ram the door open. All the while our officers could hear the continuous flushing of a toilet," he said.
When the officers finally barged in, they allegedly found 27 Zip-Lock bags of marijuana, along with various drug packaging and processing materials. All three men were taken into custody, and officers found Darby carrying five envelopes of heroin, Fontoura said.
Harris, 48, Daniels, 51, and Darby, 46, were all charged with various drug possession and distribution charges, as well as conspiracy and maintaining fortified premises.
James Harris stands outside the 99AC/ Zone convenience store on Clinton Avenue in Newark in July 2014. (Dan Ivers/NJ Advance Media)A city man and police officer each suffered gunshot wounds in July 2014 after police attempted to break up an apparent armed robbery at the 99C/ Zone. In an interview with NJ Advance Media the following day, Harris and Daniels praised the officer, saying he may have saved their lives.
The trio were arraigned in Essex County Superior Court on Thursday, and remain in custody at the county jail.
Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
