Police Seeking ShopRite Stabbing Victim Wanted on Drug Charges

Berkeley Township detectives are asking for the public's help in locating , the ShopRite employee who was stabbed three times in the Bayvile store in front of customers and employees last month.

Police went to Jackson's Tuckerton home today to arrest him on charges of possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, but were unable to locate him, Detective Joseph Robertazzi said.

Jackson was severely stabbed inside the store on the morning of March 23. , 34, has been charged with attempted murder in connection with the incident and was arrested in downtown Toms River.

Jackson was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center after the attack. Ocean County Sheriff's Department criminal investigations unit Detective Daniel Molyneaux was in the emergency room when medical personnel cut Jackson's clothing off to treat him, Robertazzi said.

"He was at Jersey Shore when they cut off his clothing," he said. "He was the one who discovered the drugs in his pockets."

Authorities found 17 plastic bags of cocaine in Jackson's pockets, valued at between $600 to $800 apiece, Robertazzi said.

"They were definitely packets for resale," he said. "Based on our investigation and information from other agencies, we feel he was definitely involved in a drug distribution group."

Jackson, 37, had been a cart pusher at the Bayville ShopRite for years. He often parked his late-model Mercedes sideways at the front of the parking lot near Route 9, Robertazzi said.

Police did not have enough forensic evidence to search Jackson's Mercedes. A drug-sniffing K-9 dog found nothing, he said.

Page, 34, was charged with attempted murder, possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, Berkeley Township Police Chief Karin T. DiMichele has said.

An altercation between the two men began in the store vestibule and continued into the front of the store near the checkout registers 1 and 3,  where Jackson was stabbed severely, DiMichele has said.

Ironically, the stabbing doesn't appear to be related to drugs, but to a woman, Robertazzi said.

"We have no reason to believe the stabbing was drug-related," he said.

Page's girlfriend apparently had words with Jackson in the store that morning. Page actually left his name and number at the store to complain. He later returned to the store, Robertazzi said.

"It was related to a problem with the suspect's girlfriend and Noah Jackson," said Robertazzi, who said he did not know the specifics of Page's girlfriend's connection to Jackson. "It just went from bad to worse. It pretty much is all over a woman."

Berkeley police are asking anyone with information about Jackson's whereabouts to contact the Berkeley police department at 732-341-6600.

"He'll be arrested and processed," Robertazzi said.