Fort Lee, NJ – Two NY men arrested with a pound of heroin, 16k cash, FREE TO GO under NJ Bail Reform

Francisco Batista, Cesar Mercedes-Paulino

Francisco Batista, 23, of Manhattan, and Cesar Mercedes-Paulino, 42, of the Bronx, were arrested when detectives seized a pound of heroin and $16,000 in cash during a traffic stop on the George Washington Bridge.

The drugs and cash were hidden in an electronically-operated compartment in the vehicle.

The pair, after their detention hearing at the Bergen County Jail, were released and FREE TO GO under NJ Bail Reform after the Arnold Foundation’s “Pretrial Risk Assessment” tool determined that they were not a danger to the community or a flight risk and therefore should not be subject to any accountable release – just a promise to appear.


More “validated pretrial risk assessment” Failures.

New Jersey Bail Reform, Risk Assessments, and Pretrial Release Services…

  • ZERO Accountability
  • ZERO Deterrent
  • ZERO Supervision
  • ZERO concern for victims
  • ZERO Bail…just a “pinky promise” to return
  • Bail Reform – Dangerous, Reckless, and a Taxpayer Burden



RELATED:

Two Busted, Pound Of Heroin, $16,000 Seized In GWB Stop

(reported by Jerry DeMarco of the Fort Lee Daily Voice)

Bergen County prosecutor’s detectives seized a pound of heroin and $16,000 in alleged drug proceeds while arresting two New York City men at the George Washington Bridge.

Detectives stopped their 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan at the upper level toll plaza on Tuesday and found the heroin stashed in an electronically-operated compartment, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal said Friday.

They arrested Francisco Batista, a 23-year-old self-employed construction worker from Manhattan, and Cesar Mercedes-Paulino, 42, of the Bronx, who Grewal said is unemployed, on drug and money-laundering charges.

Read more…


You’ve been LIED to New Jersey…NJ Bail Reform is RECKLESS, DANGEROUS, and YOU are PAYING for it.

Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.


https://www.usbailreform.com/fair-lawn-nj-officer-badly-injured-chasing-wanted-suspect-now-free-go-nj-bail-reform/