Pair Accused of Passing Phony Money at Wawa, Cocaine Possession

What started as a traffic stop Monday snowballed into charges of cocaine possession and passing counterfeit money for a Blackwood man and his alleged accomplice. The Secret Service even got in on the case.

Now Erik Ellison, 21, of Huntington Mews in Blackwood, and Robert A. Smith Jr., 49, of Newton Lane, Willingboro, face multiple charges for drugs, forgery and more.

Gloucester Township Police stopped a car, driven by Ellison, on March 4 at 8:30 p.m. for an alleged equipment violation on the Black Horse Pike at Clementon Avenue. Police said the car also fit the description of a vehicle used by suspects passing counterfeit money at local businesses.

During the stop, officers discovered Ellison and Smith, the passenger, were wanted on numerous outstanding warrants. A search of the vehicle then allegedly uncovered cocaine, prescription drugs, drug paraphernalia and more than $400 in counterfeit currency.

Gloucester Township Police’s Criminal Investigations Unit and the U.S. Secret Service teamed up and learned that the Ellison and Smith reportedly used the counterfeit currency at several Wawa locations throughout Camden County.

Ellison was jailed on $20,000 bail for charges of forgery, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, fraud and conspiracy.

Smith was also held on $20,000 bail for charges of forgery, two counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. 

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