This tiny Paterson street was the target of a drug and gun bust
PATERSON — Braun Street is so small that for 10 years it didn’t even make Paterson’s official road map.
But the one-block-long street, tucked between Route 19 and Paterson’s School 8, recently drew the attention of city police detectives, who allegedly spotted a series of drug deals while conducting surveillance in the area.
What happened
That investigation last week resulted in the seizure of two handguns and various amounts of cocaine, heroin and Xanax pills, as well as five arrests, according to a press release issued Thursday by the Paterson Police Department’s Officer in Charge Isa Abbassi.
The Braun Street investigation and arrests took place on July 6, the day after two young men from Paterson were killed and three others injured in a shooting that happened about a mile to the north. After the shooting, a a sidewalk memorial was set up on Braun. A social media posting before the shooting depicted one of the victims in a group photo with the caption “Braun St Boyz,” according to law enforcement sources.
Authorities have not said whether the surveillance on July 6 was connected to the shooting that happened the day before.
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The arrests took place after two men who allegedly engaged in the drug deals near the corner of Braun and Marshall Street left the scene in separate vehicles, Abbassi said. One gun was found in each vehicle, as well as various drugs, authorities said. Three passengers in one of the vehicles were also charged in the case, police said.
What officials said
“Thanks to the great police work done by our detectives, two guns are off the streets, preventing future instances of gun violence and tragedies associated with them,” Abbassi said. “I want to commend these detectives and their supervisors for making the city of Paterson safer and taking these guns and drugs off our streets.”
Chadwick Street, at the opposite end of Braun, was the scene of a separate drug bust in early June. In that investigation, police said they seized more than 5,500 pills, about 24 ounces of marijuana and 30 grams of cocaine — with a total street value of about $115,000.
Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press.
Email: editor@patersonpress.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ: Braun Street targeted in drug, gun bust
