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TRENTON – Attorney
General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice
Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that
five men were sentenced to state prison
today as members of a narcotics ring that
trafficked 22 kilograms of cocaine from
Texas to New Jersey. The ring was led by
a former senior state correction officer
who has also pleaded guilty.
According to Criminal Justice
Director Taylor, the five men were charged
along with Eugene W. Braswell, 32, of Newark,
a former senior state correction officer
who worked at Northern State Prison. The
defendants were charged in an Oct. 15, 2009
indictment that stemmed from an investigation
by the New Jersey State Police and the Division
of Criminal Justice. Braswell, who was the
last to plead guilty, is awaiting sentencing.
These five defendants were
sentenced today as follows by Superior Court
Judge John J. Coyle Jr. in Warren County:
- Delrese Hardy,
37, of East Orange, was sentenced to 15
years in state prison, including seven
years of parole ineligibility.
- Joseph L. Jones,
40, of Newark, was sentenced to seven
years in state prison, including three
years of parole ineligibility.
- Antwan K. Jones,
39, of Sewaren, was sentenced to seven
years in state prison, including three
years of parole ineligibility.
- Walter S. Braden,
33, of East Orange, was sentenced to seven
years in state prison, including one year
of parole ineligibility.
- Shuerod Walton,
39, of East Orange, was sentenced to seven
years in state prison, including one year
of parole ineligibility.
Supervising Deputy Attorney
General Mark Eliades, Chief of the Division
of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized
Crime Bureau, and Deputy Attorney General
Jeffrey Manis of the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Bureau prosecuted the
defendants.
“Where there’s
smoke, there’s fire, and Braswell’s
involvement in a fatal gun battle in 2007
led investigators to suspect – and
quickly uncover – his involvement
in major drug trafficking,” said Attorney
General Dow. “The evidence also led
detectives to the five men sentenced today.”
“The strong evidence
gathered by the New Jersey State Police
and the Division of Criminal Justice led
one defendant after another to plead guilty
in this major narcotics prosecution,”
said Director Taylor. “The sentences
imposed today are a testament to the outstanding
work of the detectives and attorneys assigned
to this case.”
In pleading guilty, Braswell
admitted that he and Hardy arranged to have
Braden and Walton transport 22 kilograms
of cocaine to New Jersey from Houston, Texas.
Hardy pleaded guilty on Jan. 21, 2011 to
first-degree cocaine trafficking. Braswell
pleaded guilty on March 16, 2011 to first-degree
cocaine trafficking and second degree official
misconduct.
The state will recommend
that Braswell be sentenced to 15 to 20 years
in prison, including 10 to 12 ½ years
of parole ineligibility. He faces five years
without possibility of parole on the official
misconduct charge and a consecutive sentence
of 10 to 15 years, including five to 7 ½
years of parole ineligibility, on the drug
charge. He forfeited his job as a senior
correction officer and his state pension
as a result of the plea.
Braden, Walton, Joseph Jones
and Antwan Jones pleaded guilty to second-degree
conspiracy charges. The six defendants were
arrested in July 2008. The investigation
revealed that Braswell and Hardy supervised
the other defendants in the purchase and
inter-state transportation of large quantities
of cocaine from sources in Texas and elsewhere
outside New Jersey. The cocaine was sold
and distributed in northern New Jersey.
Braswell was suspended without pay from
his job with the Department of Corrections
after his arrest.
The investigation into drug
trafficking began after Braswell was involved
in a shooting in August 2007 outside his
Newark home in which he killed Waliford
Williams, 34. According to an investigation
by the Attorney General’s Shooting
Response Team, Williams shot at Braswell
with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, striking
Braswell in the left ankle. Braswell returned
fire with his own .40-caliber handgun, striking
Williams twice, including once in the neck.
Williams died at the scene.
The drug investigation led
to the arrest of Walton and Braden on July
12, 2008 following a motor vehicle stop
in Pohatcong Township, Warren County. Detectives
had a warrant to search the 2000 Dodge Ram
Van in which the men were traveling. They
seized approximately 22 kilograms of cocaine
which were wrapped in heat-sealed plastic
bags and hidden in the roof panels of the
vehicle. The men were returning from Houston,
Texas, with the drugs.
Members of the State Police
and Division of Criminal Justice arrested
the other four defendants on July 24, 2008.
Search warrants were executed at Braswell’s
home in Newark and Hardy’s home in
East Orange. A 2002 Cadillac Escalade and
2003 Chevrolet Van owned by Braswell were
also seized. Approximately 1 ½ kilograms
of cocaine, $13,878 in cash and drug packaging
materials were recovered in Hardy’s
home. Cash totaling $17,020 and equipment
and materials for drug packaging were found
in Braswell’s home. A Smith &
Wesson .357 revolver was found in a hidden
compartment in the Escalade.
The
investigation was conducted by Detective
Sgt. Geoffrey Forker and members of the
New Jersey State Police Official Corruption
Unit, working jointly with members of the
Division of Criminal Justice Gangs &
Organized Crime Bureau, North Squad, supervised
by Supervising Deputy Attorney General Eliades
and Deputy Attorney General Manis.
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