TRENTON
–Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa
announced that a New Brunswick man was sentenced
to 20 years in state prison today for selling
an AK-47 assault rifle and two handguns to
an informant during an undercover investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice.
Antonio Powell, 39, of New Brunswick, was
sentenced to 20 years in prison, including
10 years of parole ineligibility, by Superior
Court Judge Bradley J. Ferencz in Middlesex
County. Powell pleaded guilty on March 5,
as he was about to go on trial, to all 11
counts of a state grand jury indictment
obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice
Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau. Deputy
Attorney General Russell J. Curley prosecuted
Powell. Judge Ferencz granted Curley’s
request that Powell be sentenced to an extended
term as a persistent offender.
“This defendant was prepared to sell
deadly firepower to anyone who would pay
his price,” said Attorney General
Chiesa. “When he was offered $1,500
through our undercover investigation, he
produced a fully loaded AK-47 within about
an hour, delivered in a black garbage bag
on a New Brunswick street corner. The profits
of illegal gun traffickers such as Powell
are paid for with the blood of the many
people who fall victim to gun violence each
year in our urban centers.”
“We have stepped up our investigations
and prosecutions of those who traffic and
possess illegal guns,” said Director
Stephen J. Taylor of the Division of Criminal
Justice. “Through independent investigations
such as this one, or working in concert
with partners including the State Police,
we are going after those responsible for
the proliferation of guns and gun crime
in New Jersey.”
An investigation by the Division of Criminal
Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau
determined that Powell was a weapons trafficker
who acquired illegal guns and sold them
on the streets of New Brunswick. Using an
informant and an undercover detective, investigators
bought three guns from Powell at various
locations in New Brunswick between June
and October of 2008: (1) a 7.62x39mm Norinco
assault rifle (AK-47) with a fully loaded
30-round magazine; (2) a HiPoint 9mm handgun
with ammunition; and (3) an RG40 .38-caliber
handgun.
Powell pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful
possession of an assault firearm (2nd degree);
unlawful sale of an assault firearm (2nd
degree); possession of a prohibited large
capacity magazine (4th degree); sale of
a prohibited large capacity magazine (4th
degree); two counts of unlawful possession
of a handgun (2nd degree); two counts of
unlawful sale of a handgun (2nd degree);
and three counts of possession of a firearm
as a convicted felon (2nd degree).
The investigation was led by Detective
Keith Stopko, Detective Timothy Savage and
Deputy Attorney General Curley. The New
Brunswick Police Department provided assistance.