Jersey City enforcer Jalil Burns, a/k/a “Big Ben,” was locked up Tuesday after a federal complaint charged him with armed drug dealing and illegal gun possession. The 33-year-old gang figure appeared via video before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward S. Kiel in Newark and was ordered detained, marking another blow to violent street operations in Hudson County.
Burns faces three serious federal counts: unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of Phencyclidine (PCP) with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The charges stem from an Aug. 3, 2020, bust where authorities found a loaded .40-caliber handgun — chambered with six rounds — and a jar of PCP in his possession.
The defendant is no stranger to federal lockup. In 2009, Burns was convicted in federal court for unlawful possession of a firearm as a convicted felon — the very same crime he’s now accused of again. That prior conviction automatically escalates penalties, exposing him to up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the gun charge alone.
The PCP possession charge carries up to 20 years behind bars and a $1 million fine. But the most severe count — possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking — forces a mandatory minimum of five years, with the possibility of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors are treating the case as a threat-to-public-safety priority.
The takedown was a joint operation led by the Jersey City Police Department under Public Safety Director James Shea, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office helmed by Esther Suarez, ATF Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson, and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Joe Denahan. The collaboration targets entrenched gang networks feeding addiction and violence in urban neighborhoods.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Desiree Grace Latzer of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit is prosecuting the case. The complaint remains an accusation; Jalil Burns is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. For now, ‘Big Ben’ sits in federal custody, awaiting the next phase in a case that underscores the lethal mix of guns, drugs, and street power in North Jersey.
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Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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