SOMERVILLE: A Bridgewater man has been charged with smuggling synthetic marijuana into the Somerset County Jail by hiding it in his rectum.
Renato Escobar, 21, of Grove Street, was charged Tuesday with third-degree distribution of a synthetic cannabinoid. He was lodged in the Somerset County Jail, with bail set at $20,000 cash only by Superior Court Judge Kimarie Rahill.
According to Somerset County Sheriff Frank J. Provenzano, five inmates from the Somerset County Jail demonstrating signs of a possible drug overdose had to be hospitalized on July 15.
In a joint investigation, detectives from the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit conducted interviews of several witnesses in the Somerset County Jail, leading to the identification of Escobar, Provenzano said.
The witnesses identified Escobar, who brought the synthetic marijuana, also known as “K2,” into the Somerset County Jail by hiding it in his rectum, the sheriff said.
Escobar, who was positively identified by multiple witnesses, was responsible for distributing the synthetic marijuana to several inmates, the sheriff said.
On July 15, with the help of a police narcotics K-9, jail officials found a small quantity of synthetic marijuana, which was seized and will be analyzed by the New Jersey State Police Laboratory, the sheriff said.
“I will do everything in my power to maintain a drug-free, safe and secure environment in our county jail to protect the inmates, staff and visitors,” Provenzano said.
Escobar was arrested without incident at his residence on Tuesday.
