MANCHESTER – A two-week probe by township police and several Ocean County law enforcement agencies led to the arrest of a man on drug and weapons charges.
Manchester Township Police confirmed the arrest of 31-year-old resident Rameek Peace after he allegedly threatened people with a handgun on October 21 at the Surf and Stream Campground on Route 571.
Police said when they received the report of a black male threatening people with a handgun, eyewitnesses reported that the suspect was assaulting a woman inside an SUV and anyone who tried to come to her aid was threatened by the man with the gun. Before police arrived, he fled the scene.
According to police, a subsequent investigation conducted by members of the department’s Investigations Bureau and Narcotics Enforcement Team, led by Detective Adam Emmons, identified Peace, as the possible suspect.
A court-authorized search warrants were granted for Peace’s home as well as a 2020 Chevy Malibu rental vehicle, which Peace had been observed operating numerous times.
Peace was apprehended while driving the Chevy Malibu and arrested without incident. Inside the car, police seized a silver and black, 40-caliber, Springfield XD handgun that was loaded with hollow point bullets and found 1000 wax folds of heroin with an approximate street value of $5,000.00, $2,020.00 in cash and additional ammunition. The handgun matched the description provided by multiple victims and witnesses.
During the search of Peace’s home, police found two children, a 2-month-old and 2-year-old, who had been left unaccompanied and without any supervision. The children were found in a bed covered in dirty laundry. The children were ultimately released to their mother, and the Department of Child Protection and Permanency was notified.
Also in the home was a large quantity of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Peace was charged with Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purpose, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, Certain Persons Not to Have Weapons, Terroristic Threats, Aggravated Assault, Possession of Heroin, Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin, Endangering the Welfare of Children, Money Laundering, Possession of Hollow Point Bullets, Possession of a Large Capacity Magazine, Possession of Marijuana, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
He remains lodged in Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Members of the Manchester Township Police Department’s K-9 Unit and Patrol Bureau, as well as members of the Lakewood Police Department, the Ocean County Regional SWAT Team, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office all aided in the probe.
