NJ Man Faces Life in Prison for Heroin Trafficking
NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man today admitted possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug distribution, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
D’Sean Roper, 27, of Newark, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to an information charging him with one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to court documents, on Jan. 18, 2021, Newark Police Department officers observed a large group of people in front of a house on Fairmount Avenue in Newark. An officer saw what appeared to be a black handle of a gun protruding from Roper’s waistband. Officers approached Roper and saw the outline of the object in his pants that appeared to be a gun. He was found to have a Hi-Point 9mm handgun loaded with eight rounds of 9mm ammunition and five bricks of heroin.
Roper’s guilty plea comes as part of the Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), a partnership between federal, state, county, and city agencies to combat violent crime in and around Newark.
The count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime carries a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 3, 2022.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, and members of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The investigation is part of a larger effort to combat violent crime in Newark, and Roper’s guilty plea is a significant step forward in that effort. Roper’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 3, 2022, and he faces a maximum potential penalty of life in prison.
Related Federal Cases
- Massachusetts Heroin Trafficking Ring Dismantled · New York
- James Fights to Uphold Gun Shipping Ban Amidst DOJ Retreat · Delaware
- Robert Downing, Sex Trafficking, Baltimore MD, 2023 · Maryland
- David Allen Vickers, Sex Trafficking of Minors, Buffalo NY, 2023 · Texas
- Workman Faces Machine Gun Rap, Elkins WV, 2023 · West Virginia
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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