TOMS RIVER ― A former Brick man who was illegally growing marijuana at his home and fled the United States before his trial will spend the next three decades in state prison, said Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Jason Bacon, 43, was sentenced on Friday, April 17, to a total of 32 years by state Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan. The sentence requires that Bacon serve 12 years before he is eligible for parole, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
The case against Bacon dates back to December 2017, when police in Clayton, in Gloucester County, noticed that a “large greenhouse” had been constructed behind a vacant home owned by Bacon on Delsea Drive. Investigators would discover the property was consuming significant amounts of water and electricity, and that he was receiving freight shipments of materials that were used for large-scale marijuana cultivation, Billhimer said.
Search warrants executed in April 2018 at properties in both Clayton and Brick yielded the following haul:
Bacon’s bank records indicated that between 2013 and 2018, he had deposited more than $400,000 from illegal drug sales into his accounts. He had also failed to file or pay income taxes on that income, all according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Bacon was arrested at the time but was released in April 2019 pending trial. However, he left the country and was a no-show for his trial, which ultimately proceeded in his absence in January 2025.
He was charged with maintaining a controlled dangerous substance facility; possessionof a firearm during a controlled dangerous substance offense; financial facilitation; marijuana possession; hashish possession; marijuana possession with intent to distribute; hashish possession with intent to distribute; and failure to file and pay income tax.
He was found guilty of all charges in absentia in January 2025. Bacon’s run as a fugitive ended on Jan. 15 of this year, when the U.S. Marshals Task Force apprehended him in Mexico. He was extradited back to the United States in early February.
Senior Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke was in charge of the case.
Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.