An area man is being held in jail on heroin dealing and possession charges.

Ronald Scott Newell Jr., 47, of Route 36 in the Leonardo section of Middletown, was arrested on April 28, by Middletown police officers Stephen Greenwood and Thomas Hughes of the Anti Crime Unit, and charged with: possession of heroin, possession of heroin with the intent to distribute, possession of heroin within 500 feet of a public park, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a hypodermic syringe, a release from Middletown police said.

The arrest came after an investigation by Middletown police into alleged narcotics activity, police said.

Newell was transported to Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold.