An Egg Harbor Township man who once blamed a 2023 crime spree on his drug relapse was arrested this week with a large amount of drugs and more than $10,000 in cash, Atlantic County's sheriff announced Friday.
"I have six years clean before this relapse," Keith Merendino told a judge during his detention hearing Aug. 31, 2023.
The then-47-year-old Egg Harbor Township man had 17 pending charges when he was arrested in the basement of a home in Ventnor. The cases included burglary, theft and drug charges out of other towns, including Atlantic City, Margate and Egg Harbor Township.
Before he was captured Aug. 26, 2023, Merendino tried breaking into another home but the resident called police, an assistant prosecutor told the judge at the time. Less than three weeks earlier he had been released from jail.
Merendino admitted to arrested officers at the time that he also stole a gray bicycle from another residence, according to the 2023 charges.
"The house I broke into was an abandoned house," he told Judge Pam D'Arcy at the 2023 hearing.
"I need to explain my clean time," he said when his public defender took issue with Merendino admitting to a crime.
The judge ordered Merendino held at the time, but he eventually pleaded guilty into Recovery Court, records show.
Then, he became a fugitive.
When his public defender warned against admitting to a crime, Mere
Sheriff’s Detectives Karlton Borlandoe, Brian Martyn and Joshua Pennington apprehended Merendino at about 6 p.m. Thursday, Sheriff Joseph O'Donaghue announced Friday.
His charges included possession of a weapon other than a gun, but details were not available on that charge.
When he was arrested, Merendino had 522 wax folds of suspected heroin, .36 ounces of suspected methamphetamine, .08 ounces of suspected cocaine and $10,368.47 in cash believed to be proceeds from drug sales.
In addition to the outstanding warrants, Merendino was charged second-degree manufacturing and distribution of heroin, third-degree possession with intent to distribute cocaine and money laundering.
He is in the Atlantic County Justice Facility pending a detention hearing.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office at 609-909-7200.
