La Cascata Raid Nets Three Drug Arrests

Township police wrapped up a monthlong investigation into alleged drug-dealing from a La Cascata townhouse with a raid there Monday morning that resulted in the recovery of both marijuana and cocaine, as well as three arrests.

Special Investigations Unit detectives had been conducting an investigation on illicit activities at 217 La Cascata for roughly a month before the police department's Special Response Team executed a search warrant there at about 6 a.m. Monday, police said.

The investigation began as a result of information developed during what police labeled as high-intensity patrols by members of the department's Patrol Division. The patrols are intended to curb criminal activity in the neighborhood.

Arrested inside the home Monday morning were 35-year-old Thomas Donato, 28-year-old Devon Jacocks and 35-year-old Wynatt Stoner.

All three were charged with distribution of a controlled dangerous substance (marijuana), conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession of marijuana and cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia (packaging materials).

Jacocks was additionally charged with tampering with evidence for allegedly attempting to flush narcotics down a toilet. He was lodged in Camden County Jail.

Donato and Stoner were released on criminal summonses pending court.

Members of the police department's Community Relations Bureau distributed informational fliers throughout the neighborhood following the raid.

The fliers invite the community to sign up for free email notifications about crime prevention, upcoming events, and safety tips by emailing the bureau at communityrelations@gtpolice.com or by calling 856-374-5713.

"These arrests and subsequent follow-up with the community are an example of our new ways of fighting crime in our communities. In the past, we might have had SWAT raid the drug dealer's house, make the arrests, and pull out of the area," Chief W. Harry Earle said in a statement regarding the early morning raid. "Now we are making the arrests, and are going out to the community and working with them as partners in making our community even safer."