NJ drug dealer gets 6 months rehab for 4000+ doses of heroin.

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An admitted drug dealer who was caught with about 4,150 doses of heroin worth $25,000 was sentenced to just six months of rehab and five years of probation.

Gary Fox, 30, of Toms River, who has a criminal record that includes previous drug convictions, avoided prison by being accepted by Drug Court and pleading guilty to two counts of third-degree possession with intent to distribute and a count of possession.

Fox, however, does face an alternate prison sentence of 10 years in prison with 3 1/2 years of parole ineligibility if he fails to complete the Drug Court program, according to a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, who added Wednesday that the sentence was not a result of a plea deal with prosecutors.

The Drug Courts, part of Gov. Chris Christie’s reform efforts in the wake of a massive heroin addiction epidemic gripping the state, are meant to provide drug users with rehabilitation instead of placing them behind bars. Drug Courts, however, are not for violent or hardened criminals.

The courts found Fox eligible for the program and he began rehab in November, remaining in custody until his guilty plea in January, prosecutors said. Court records show he spent 168 days in county jail.

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