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TRENTON – Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that three members of the violent Sex Money Murder set of the Bloods street gang pleaded guilty today to distributing narcotics.
According to Director Paw, the following defendants pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci, Jr. in Monmouth County:
Michael Rutledge, 21, of Newark, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. Rutledge admitted that on two occasions, on May 2 and 17, 2007, he distributed at least one-half ounce of cocaine in Newark.
Kazimu Shomari, aka Anthony Woods, 44, currently incarcerated in South Woods State Prison, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. Shomari admitted that on Feb. 18, 2007, he distributed at least one-half ounce of cocaine in the City of Passaic.
Royce Hodges, 35, of Irvington, pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance within 1,000 feet of a school. Hodges admitted that on March 7 and 12, 2007, he distributed heroin within 1,000 feet of the Alexander Street School in Newark.
Under their plea agreements, Rutledge and Shomari each will be ordered to serve five years in state prison, and Hodges will be ordered to serve four years in state prison with 30 months of parole ineligibility. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 8.
Supervising Deputy Attorney General Mark Eliades, Chief of the Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau, handled today’s guilty pleas. The guilty pleas stem from a cooperative investigation by the New Jersey State Police, Division of Criminal Justice, State Parole Board, Passaic County Sheriff’s Department, Paterson Police Department, Newark Police Department and New Jersey Department of Corrections.
In September 2007, the Division of Criminal Justice – Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau obtained two indictments, one charging 23 members of Sex Money Murder, including the two alleged leaders in Mercer County and the alleged leader in Monmouth and Ocean counties, and a second indictment charging 11 individuals, including the defendants who pleaded guilty today and all members of the three-person state leadership committee of Sex Money Murder.
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