Undercover officers responded to an East Orange neighborhood after reports of drug deals.
EAST ORANGE -- A city man was arraigned Thursday after authorities say they saw him dealing crack cocaine and marijuana from an abandoned car.
Taji Whitaker, 27, was arrested Wednesday after officers allegedly saw him conduct a deal from an abandoned 2001 Honda Accord parked on Mapes Avenue in East Orange, Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said in a release. Sheriff's officers were in the area responding to neighborhood complaints about open air drug deals, Fontoura said.
In the car, authorities found 78 plastic jugs of crack and 98 grams of marijuana, authorities said.
Whitaker, who was arrested on various drug charges, is being held at the Essex County jail on $100,000 bail, officials said.
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