Appeals Court Upholds Guilty Plea Of Man Who Tried To Distribute Cocaine In Toms River

A Toms River man sentenced to 18 years in prison for trying to buy more than five ounces of cocaine he planned to distribute in his hometown will not have his guilty plea vacated or get a trial on the charge, according to a state appeals court ruling.

John T. Farry, 39, was arrested with $8,400 in his pocket after police intercepted telephone calls indicating he was going to the Cheesequake rest area on the Garden State Parkway to buy cocaine from a Latino man from New York.

Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office watched the men meet there on May 31, 2007, reacting to a tip from a confidential informant and other wiretapped phone calls.

On June 15, 2007, the detectives were there after Farry called the same man and arranged another meeting. This time police arrested Farry, the supplier, and others who were there with them. A search of the Latino man’s van by detectives uncovered 500 grams of cocaine.

On April 23, 2008, Farry pled guilty to having more than five ounces of cocaine intending to distribute it on June 15, 2007 at the rest stop. The plea bargain called for an 18-year prison term, five years without parole, and a $100,000 anti-profiteering penalty. Other related charges against Farry were dismissed as part of the plea bargain when he was sentenced.

Farry appealed, claiming he did not detail the required factual basis for the guilty plea when he entered it.

A two-judge panel of the Appellate Division of Superior Court disagreed. It ruled "he was in the immediate vicinity and was able to assert direct control over the drugs upon payment for them, which he intended to do. Thus we find no occasion to disturb his plea, conviction or sentence."

Farry is serving his sentence at Bayside State Prison in Leesburg.