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A woman who was helping her boyfriend run an illegal dispensary out of their South Jersey apartment has been sentenced to state prison.
Donna Shiffler, 40, and her boyfriend, 39-year-old John Garman, were running the unlicensed business out of an apartment in Somers Point, where they lived in with Garman’s three children, authorities said. The couple was also planning to employ Garman’s teenage son to help them with marketing their unlicensed business, according to investigators.
An Atlantic County judge sentenced Shiffler to five year behind bars on Tuesday, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office announced. She had previously pleaded guilty to employing a juvenile in commission of a crime, possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, maintaining a production facility and endangering the welfare of a child.
Garman was sentenced to 10 years in May. He pleaded guilty to the same charges in addition to money laundering.
Detectives began investigating the couple in March 2023. They staged drug sales at the Ocean Heights Shopping Center in Somers Point using an undercover agent.
While meeting with the agent, Garman elaborated on his business plans, telling the investigator he planned to employ his 14-year-old son to hand out business cards to potential customers at the Jersey Shore.
During a search of their apartment, investigators found 62 pounds of marijuana, 42 pounds of hashish, TCH edibles and cartridges; two pounds of mushrooms and $119,000 in cash, officials said. Detectives also seized packaging materials for drugs and business cards for “Garman’s Goods,” the business name they used to sell the drugs, prosecutors said.
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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com.