RECORD IMPOUNDED NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3. SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-2197-18T4 NEW JERSEY DIVISION OF CHILD PROTECTION AND PERMANENCY, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. T.B., Defendant, and R.G., Defendant-Appellant. ____________________________ IN THE MATTER OF L.G., a Minor. ____________________________ Submitted January 13, 2020 – Decided February 4, 2020 Before Judges Moynihan and Mitterhoff. On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part, Bergen County, Docket No. FN-02-0247-17. Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney for appellant (Robyn A. Veasey, Deputy Public Defender, of counsel; Andrew Robert Burroughs, Designated Counsel, on the briefs). Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General, attorney for respondent (Donna Sue Arons, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel; Jaime Elaine Stofa, Deputy Attorney General, on the brief). Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, Law Guardian, attorney for minor (Meredith Alexis Pollock, Deputy Public Defender, of counsel; Margo E.K. Hirsch, Designated Counsel, on the brief). PER CURIAM Defendant R.G. appeals the trial court's November 2, 2017 decision finding that he abused or neglected his son, L.G., within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 9:6-8.21(c)(4). The trial court based its finding on evidence at trial that defendant chronically abused heroin while acting as the primary physical custodian for L.G. After reviewing the record in light of the governing legal principles, we affirm. I. We discern the following facts from the record. On November 13, 2016, R.G. was arrested for possession of heroin and was consequently placed on A-2197-18T4 2 probation. On April 6, 2017, the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (Division) received a referral from Nichole Dallas, R.G.'s probation officer, stating that R.G. "had been arrested for possession of heroin on April 3[] and it was unknown if [L.G.] was with him or not with him or where the child currently was." At the time of this arrest, R.G. was the custodial parent of L.G., who was just shy of his fourth birthday. 1 After receiving the referral, Yocasta Riccardi, a Division caseworker, interviewed L.G., L.G.'s maternal grandmother, and T.B., L.G.'s biological mother, at the grandmother's home. The grandmother advised Riccardi that R.G. had asked her to "take care of L.G. [for several days]" so he could attend a wedding. The grandmother explained that L.G. would typically stay with her on weekends. Riccardi interviewed L.G., and in the course of the interview, L.G. stated that R.G. "uses a smoker." L.G. clarified that a smoker "was an object that was red or orange at the top and had water and that [R.G.] crushes rocks and smokes from it." L.G. also stated that when R.G. would use the smoker, "sometimes he's in the room and sometimes [R.G.] asks him to leave the room." 1 The Division had previously removed L.G. from his mother T.B.'s custody after ...
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