TRENTON, NJ – Timothy Wimbush, 33, a known heroin trafficker operating in Trenton, received a 25-year federal prison sentence Tuesday for leading a large-scale drug operation and illegally possessing a cache of firearms, one of which was connected to a violent shooting in the city. Wimbush, also known as “Young Money,” was convicted in October 2021 after a three-week trial, initially before Chief U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson, and finalized under U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner.
The bust came on September 6, 2018, when officers pulled over Wimbush’s green 2002 Volkswagen Passat after spotting co-defendant Taquan Williams, a convicted felon, entering the vehicle with a plastic bag suspected of containing drugs. A search revealed a professionally installed hidden compartment beneath the rear passenger seat – a treasure trove for any street-level dealer. Inside, investigators found 57 bricks of heroin, four semiautomatic firearms, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
But the weapons weren’t just for show. Ballistics evidence tied a .223 caliber assault rifle recovered from the Passat to a drive-by shooting that occurred just four days earlier, on September 2, 2018, near Stuyvesant and Bryn Mawr Avenues. Four of Wimbush’s associates were hit in that shooting. Shortly after, a second shooting erupted near Lee and West State Street, and a shell casing from that scene definitively matched the assault rifle found in Wimbush’s car. Court-authorized wiretaps revealed a back-and-forth exchange of gunfire between Wimbush and his crew, all while they pushed heroin on Trenton’s streets.
Federal prosecutors detailed how Wimbush and his network sourced the heroin through conspirators Jakir Taylor and Tacques Hall. Taylor already pleaded guilty to heroin and firearms charges and received a sentence from Judge Wolfson earlier this year. Hall was sentenced in 2019 for his role in the heroin conspiracy. Co-defendant Taquan Williams was also convicted at trial for unlawfully possessing firearms as a convicted felon and received his own sentence.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced the sentencing, highlighting the severity of the charges: conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, distribution of heroin, possession of a firearm in furtherance of his heroin distribution, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon. Wimbush’s 300-month sentence sends a clear message – arming a drug operation with military-grade weapons won’t be tolerated in New Jersey.
The investigation, spearheaded by the ATF, demonstrates a continued focus on dismantling drug trafficking organizations that flood communities with poison and escalate violence through illegal firearms. While this sentence removes one player from the Trenton drug scene, the Grimy Times will continue to follow the fallout and expose the networks that allow these operations to flourish.
Related Federal Cases
- Ana Maria Hernandez, Heroin Trafficking, Boston MA, 2023 · Massachusetts
- Desmond Mercer, Heroin Trafficking, PA 2014 · Alabama
- Robert Downing, Sex Trafficking, Baltimore MD, 2023 · Florida
- David Allen Vickers, Sex Trafficking of Minors, Buffalo NY, 2023 · New York
- Richard Brown, Crack Cocaine Trafficking and Firearm Possession, Pi… · Washington
Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime|Weapons|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Press Release
Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News