Ex-Philly prosecutor from Delco arrested in Wildwood on gun, drug charges

A former Philadelphia prosecutor was among two people arrested by Wildwood police last week on gun- and drug-possession charges, authorities said Monday.

Jacqueline Gruhler, 39, most recently worked in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office from late January to June 3, having previously worked in the office for about 10 years, an office spokesperson said.

She most recently worked in the homicide and nonfatal shootings unit, and before that had worked at a law firm for three years, according to an office memo about new hires obtained by The Inquirer.

Gruhler, of Morton, Delaware County, and Mutatie Johnson, a 29-year-old construction worker from Altoona, were arrested and charged after police responded to a complaint at 2 a.m. June 25 at a motel on the 4200 block of Ocean Avenue in which the manager found a loaded firearm in a recently vacated room, Wildwood police said in a news release last week.

During their investigation, police seized a loaded Ruger 9mm semiautomatic handgun and “distribution quantities of heroin, which was prepackaged for street level sales,” estimated at a street value of $400, the release said. Also seized were cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, prescription medication, narcotics paraphernalia, and $1,000 in cash, police said.

Gruhler and Johnson were charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm without a permit, possession of marijuana, possession of narcotics paraphernalia, and related offenses.

Gruhler was released pending a future court appearance. Johnson was taken to the Cape May County Correctional Center. According to court records, he previously has been incarcerated in Pennsylvania on drug charges.

Attempts to reach Gruhler on Monday were not successful. It was not known if either defendant has an attorney.

Gruhler first worked in the District Attorney’s Office from September 2002 to Aug. 1, 2003, then rejoined it from August 2006 to September 2015, according to Jane Roh, a spokesperson in the office. Gruhler rejoined the office in late January until her departure June 3, said Roh, who declined to comment further because it is a personnel matter.