Hotel Crackdown by South Brunswick Police Leads to Three Arrests for Drugs; Child Endangerment

Three people were arrested last night as part of the ongoing efforts by South Brunswick Police to crackdown on illegal activity at area hotels.

Roosevelt Aristilde, 26, Cinnaminson, was charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams at the Hotel Vincenza on Route 1 Friday night.  Officers continued to monitor activity at the hotel, which was the scene of gunshots being fired last weekend.

At 8:50 p.m., officers were doing a check at the Hotel Vincenza when they encountered Aristilde. Artistilde was found to have an outstanding warrant for his arrest and was found to be in possession of marijuana under 50 grams, according to police. Artistilde posted bail on the warrant and was issued a summons for the controlled dangerous substance possession. 

At 10:50 p.m. South Brunswick Police were checking the Red Roof Inn on Route 1 when they detected a strong odor of marijuana. Officers then tracked the odor to a second floor hotel room.

Officer knocked on the door and then observed the occupants "using a controlled dangerous substance," police said. 

Emanuel Perry, 24, of Franklin and Tabitha Strelko, 24, of Pennsylvania, were both arrested and charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance and endangering the welfare of a minor.

Officers checking the room found a half ounce of marijuana, packaging material, a scale, and a grinder in the room. Also in the room was a 2-year-old child that Strelko was suppose to be watching, police said.

Perry was also charged with distribution of a controlled dangerous substance.

Both were processed and released on a complaint pending their first court appearance. Police contacted the child's mother who then picked up the child at police headquarters. 

Police responded to two parties at the same two hotels last weekend, one of which was the scene of a large party that police responded to on several occasions to break up. The parties involved at least 25 people from outside the area filling individual rooms beyond their capacity.

In response to the recent increase in problems, South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka  met with management from some of the hotels located on Route 1 and Route 130 to discuss the ongoing problems.

"We are going to keep the pressure on these establishments," said Chief Raymond Hayducka.  "The problems we are experiencing are limited to three or four hotels. Our officers have tripled the number of checks in order to address the problems and allow the legitimate customer to stay without any problems. This enhanced enforcement will continue for the foreseeable future." 

In all six people have been arrested in the past seven days at Route 1 hotels due the increased enforcement.