OCEAN COUNTY, NJ – Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer has announced the sentencing of Henry Burns, a 56-year-old resident of Brick Township, to a 15-year term in New Jersey State Prison.
This sentence comes as a result of Burns’ guilty plea to charges of possessing cocaine in an amount greater than five ounces with the intent to distribute. The investigation, which occurred between April and May of 2023 in Brick Township and Asbury Park, also led to Burns pleading guilty to weapon offenses.
Judge Kenneth T. Palmer, J.S.C., handed down the sentence, which also includes a concurrent ten-year term with a mandatory five-year parole ineligibility period for the charge of being a Certain Person Not to Possess a Weapon. The plea was entered before Judge Palmer on January 22, 2024.
The arrest followed a month-long investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, in collaboration with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The operation revealed Burns’ use of a residence in Brick Township and a storefront in Asbury Park for cocaine storage and distribution. Following surveillance and a court-authorized search, authorities seized heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone, naproxen, alprazolam, ten handguns, high-capacity magazines, ammunition, and approximately $8,000 in cash. Burns has been held in the Ocean County Jail since his arrest.