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TRENTON - Acting Attorney
General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice
Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that
a Camden man was convicted at trial of second-degree
gun charges brought by the Division of Criminal
Justice.
Raheem D. Robertson, 27, of
Camden, was convicted yesterday afternoon
by a Camden County jury of unlawful possession
of a handgun and possession of a handgun by
a convicted felon, both second-degree crimes.
The verdict followed a three-day trial before
Superior Court Judge Anthony M. Pugliese.
Deputy Attorney General Julia
S. Glass tried the case for the Division of
Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime
Bureau.
The jury found Robertson guilty
of possessing a loaded Taurus Rossi .357 Magnum
revolver in his waistband when he was arrested
by detectives on Nov. 14, 2008. The gun had
previously been reported stolen. Robertson
had been convicted of distribution of cocaine
in a school zone in 2002, and under New Jersey
law, it is a second-degree crime for a felon
convicted of certain crimes to possess a gun.
Robertson faces a sentence
of five to 10 years in state prison on each
of the two charges, and faces a mandatory
period of five years of parole ineligibility
on the charge of possessing a gun as a convicted
felon. Judge Pugliese scheduled sentencing
for March 5.
Robertson was arrested on
Nov. 14, 2008 as a result of an investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice and the
High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)
Joint Camden Task Force into alleged gun trafficking
by a second man, Tony L. Davis, 26, of Camden,
who allegedly was assisted by Robertson. The
participating task force members included
the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office,
Camden City Police Department and New Jersey
State Police.
Both men were arrested in
connection with an eight-count Camden County
grand jury indictment obtained by the Division
of Criminal Justice. Davis was charged with
gun trafficking, sale of an SKS assault rifle,
and possession of various other guns. Robertson
was charged with possession of a 30-30 rifle
and a .357-caliber handgun, and with possession
of those guns as a convicted felon. The charges
in the indictment are pending.
Deputy Attorney General Glass
was assisted at trial by Detective Harry Castaner,
Detective Todd Watkins and Officer Edward
Piniero of the Camden City Police Department
and Sgt. Peter Slusser of the Camden County
Prosecutor’s Office, all of whom testified
at trial, and Detective Brian Woolston of
the Division of Criminal Justice. Deputy Attorney
General Philip Aronow presented the case to
the grand jury for the Division of Criminal
Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.
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