TOMS RIVER — A 22-year-old Stafford Township man has pleaded guilty to cocaine distribution and illegally possessing a handgun in a case stemming from an undercover narcotics investigation in Ocean County, prosecutors said.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said James Malandro entered guilty pleas April 13, 2026, before Superior Court Judge Dina M. Vicari to distributing less than a half-ounce of cocaine and unlawful possession of a handgun.
When Malandro is sentenced June 26, prosecutors plan to seek a three-year term in New Jersey State Prison on the drug charge and a five-year term on the weapons offense, including one year of parole ineligibility. The two sentences would run at the same time.
Authorities said the investigation began in August 2025, when the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force and the Long Beach Township Police Department developed information indicating Malandro was selling cocaine in the area.
Investigators later determined that from August through October 2025, Malandro sold cocaine to undercover law enforcement officers on three occasions, according to prosecutors.
On Oct. 6, 2025, detectives conducting surveillance at Malandro’s Stafford Township home saw him leave the residence, get into a vehicle and drive away, authorities said. Officers stopped the vehicle and arrested him without incident.
Prosecutors said detectives then carried out a court-approved search of the home and recovered about 20 grams of cocaine, a quantity of Adderall pills, drug-distribution paraphernalia and a loaded handgun.
Malandro was taken to the Ocean County Jail after his arrest and was later released under New Jersey’s bail reform law, authorities said.
Billhimer also credited Senior Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke, who is representing the state in the case, and praised the prosecutor’s narcotics strike force and Long Beach Township police for their joint work on the investigation.
