Six Members of Atlantic City Drug Trafficking Organization Indicted

CAMDEN, N.J. – A federal grand jury has indicted six members of an Atlantic City drug-trafficking organization for their roles in the distribution of large amounts of heroin in the Atlantic City area, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Terryn Kelsey, 30, Jamaal Marshall, 33, Tyjuan Demarest, 40, Tieyesha Tucker, 26, Blaine Dorsey, 55, and Valarie Lamar, 60, all of Atlantic City, were each charged in a one-count indictment returned June 10, 2020, with conspiracy to distribute or possess with the intent to distribute more than 1 kilogram of heroin. These six individuals, along with 16 others, were previously charged by criminal complaint in June of 2019. They will face arraignment in federal court on a date to be determined.

Thirteen other members of this drug trafficking conspiracy have previously pleaded guilty in this case. The charges against three other defendants remain pending on complaint.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Kelsey, Marshall, Demarest, Tucker, Dorsey, Lamar and other members of the drug conspiracy trafficked heroin from Patterson, New Jersey, into Atlantic City throughout the course of the investigation. An investigation led by the FBI used physical and video surveillance, confidential informants, consensual recordings, and two court authorized wiretaps to uncover the operations of this drug trafficking organization. The investigation tracked multiple stamps of heroin being distributed by the defendants, including “AK-47,” “Apple,” “Fortnite,” “Rolex,” “Frank Lucas,” “Bentley,” “Pandora,” and “9 ½.” Between January 1, 2017 and June 21, 2019, these stamps were associated with 48 deaths and 84 non-fatal overdoses in New Jersey.

The charge in the indictment against Kelsey, Marshall, Demarest, Tucker, Dorsey and Lamar carries a mandatory penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and up to a $10 million fine.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI’s Safe Streets South Jersey Violent Incident and Gang Task Force, Atlantic City Resident Agency, and FBI, Newark Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Douglas Korneski; officers of the Atlantic City Police Department, under the direction of Chief White; the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Damon Tyner; the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Eric Scheffler; and the Pleasantville Police Department, under the direction of Chief Sean Riggin, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; and the N.J. State Police for their assistance.

This case is being conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Martha K. Nye of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment and the original complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.