“We’re taking direct aim at those responsible for the proliferation of guns and gun violence in our urban communities throughout New Jersey, including gang members and convicted felons,” said Attorney General Chiesa. “By making weapons the focus of our investigations and prosecuting offenders under New Jersey’s tough gun laws, we’re taking numerous weapons and violent criminals off the street. Each gun we seize potentially represents a life saved. In addition, by testing the guns and entering them into the national ballistics database, we will solve additional crimes.”

In the past three weeks, the Division of Criminal Justice has obtained 21 state grand jury indictments charging 29 defendants with the unlawful possession or sale of 52 guns. The indictments stem in all but one instance from cases involving the State Police. The indictments charge the defendants with offenses ranging from unlawful possession of handguns and assault weapons to leading a weapons trafficking network, and also include charges of unlawful transportation of weapons into the state, unlawful possession of defaced weapons, unlawful possession of weapons during commission of narcotics offenses, unlawful possession of body armor piercing bullets, and unlawful possession of weapons by convicted felons. Most of the defendants are subject to the strict penalties applicable to Graves Act gun convictions, requiring mandatory periods of parole ineligibility of up to five years.

The indictments represent the first wave of prosecutions under Attorney General Chiesa’s initiative. In order to stem the tide of gun violence and assist local police who are facing force reductions, the New Jersey State Police, working in coordination with the Division of Criminal Justice, has been focusing its investigatory efforts on guns, using narcotics investigations as a point of entry to identify and arrest those who sell and possess firearms in areas identified as violent crime hot spots.

The New Jersey State Police Intelligence Section has more than doubled the number of detectives assigned specifically to weapons trafficking, expanding an existing unit within a bureau into a full bureau. Since January, the new Weapons Trafficking Bureau, which includes North and South Units, has teamed with the Street Gang North and South Units to seize 101 guns and arrest 42 people for gun offenses. In that time, the Intelligence Section has seized as many guns as it seized in all of 2010 (101), and nearly as many as in 2011 (110). Nearly half of the gun offenders are convicted felons and more than a dozen are known gang members. Detectives seized 22 “community guns,” hidden where various criminals could access them, and many guns that were stolen or had defaced serial numbers. Total arrests by the four units since January, including related drug arrests, exceed 375. Additional guns were seized by Field Operations troopers that are not included in the 101 total for the initiative.

Several guns that were seized have been linked to crimes, including a homicide and other shootings, but that information is confidential due to active investigations. The Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau will prosecute the defendants under the initiative. About half of the indictments obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice during the past three weeks relate to defendants arrested by the State Police since January. The others relate to investigations from 2011. In addition to the 29 defendants indicted on gun charges, three were indicted solely on drug charges.

“By focusing on guns, we get at the root of gun violence and we also build strong cases that will enable us to send dangerous offenders away for long prison sentences,” said Director Taylor of the Division of Criminal Justice. “Most of the defendants we indicted for gun offenses will face mandatory periods of parole ineligibility, specifically five years if there is a prior felony conviction or substantial evidence of involvement in organized criminal activity, such as drug dealing.”

“Taking these guns off the streets of our cities – especially shared community guns that so many people can access – is saving lives and making New Jersey safer,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the State Police. “We are very proud of the impact that this group of dedicated detectives has had on crime.”

In a single week between April 23 and 29, the four participating State Police units arrested 34 individuals and seized 18 guns, 1.8 pounds of heroin, 2.9 pounds of cocaine, 5.2 ounces of crack, 20 pounds of marijuana, 3 ounces of PCP and 221 illegal prescription narcotic pills. Those seizures reflect the consistent link found between drug dealing and illicit weapons. While the efforts are focused in the greater Newark, Paterson, Jersey City, Trenton, Camden and Atlantic City areas, arrests and seizures of weapons have been made in communities throughout New Jersey. Local, county and federal law enforcement agencies have provided assistance with some investigations, and the State Police and Division of Criminal Justice are sharing intelligence with those other agencies.

The indictments and arrests include the following cases, which illustrate the range of investigations:

• On April 26, the State Police seized seven guns, including four assault weapons, and arrested Eugene Sparrow Jr., 27, of Newark, a reputed Bloods member who recently completed a sentence for armed robbery. Detectives executed a search warrant at his clothing store on South Orange Avenue, seizing a General Motors M1 Carbine .30 caliber assault rifle, two Norinco SKS 7.62 X 39mm assault rifles, a Masterpiece Arms .45 caliber sub-machine gun with silencer, and three handguns. They also seized numerous rounds of ammunition, including hollow point bullets, $18,534 in cash, and heroin, cocaine and marijuana with a street value of over $80,000.
• A former member of the U.S. Armed Forces from Monmouth County, Tamano Macalbe, 43, of Hazlet, was indicted on charges related to his alleged illegal possession and sale to an undercover State Police detective in late 2011 of six guns: a Remington Model 700 sniper rifle, a Rock River Arms LAR-15 semi-automatic rifle with an illegal large-capacity magazine, a Norinco SKS 7.62 X 39mm assault rifle, a semi-automatic Ruger Model 10/22 Carbine sniper rifle, a JC Higgins Model 88 .22-caliber rifle with an illegal large-capacity magazine, and a .38 caliber revolver.
• On Jan. 6, the State Police arrested two men from Union County who allegedly were trafficking assault weapons and other guns. The Division of Criminal Justice has indicted Andre Doss, 29, of Linden, and Duquan Wells, 29, of Linden, in connection with sales of a .22-caliber revolver and three assault weapons: a Cobray MAC-11 with a large-capacity magazine, an ITM Arms Co. semi-automatic rifle, and a Tula Arsenal fully automatic rifle with large-capacity magazine.
• A Camden man with a prior manslaughter conviction, Shawn D. Boles, 39, was indicted on charges including possession of three handguns as a convicted felon and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Boles allegedly sold crack cocaine and a handgun prior to his arrest. A search of his residence allegedly yielded two more handguns as well as crack cocaine and heroin.
• Four Trenton men, Francisco Gonzalez, 35, Reuben Rios, 21, Edward Ramos, 21, and Juan Rivera, 22, an alleged member of the Ñetas street gang, have been indicted on charges, including second-degree conspiracy, in connection with illegal sales of a rifle and four handguns, including handguns that were stolen and had defaced serial numbers. The State Police arrested them for allegedly trafficking firearms and ammunition, including body armor penetrating rounds, throughout Trenton.
• George L. Bresnihan III, 48, of Roselle, was indicted on charges, including a first-degree charge of leading a firearms trafficking network, as a result of Operation Southern Draw, a State Police-led investigation that took down a criminal ring that was illegally transporting guns from North Carolina for sale in New Jersey and selling counterfeit birth certificates and Social Security cards. Seven handguns were seized through controlled purchases. Three others were indicted: Nixon Provillon, 41, of Irvington, Hady Vanessa Purboo, 43, of Irvington, and Jeffrey Vandunk, 41, of Sanford, N.C.
• A reputed Crips gang member from Willingboro, Maurice Belle, was indicted on charges that he unlawfully sold a Romarm 7.62 X 39mm semi-automatic rifle with a defaced serial number and an illegal large-capacity magazine to an undercover officer in November 2011. State Police detectives arranged the sale after learning Belle was trafficking guns in Burlington County.
• Anthony D. Griffith, 42, of Newark, was indicted on charges of distribution of heroin and possession of a Romarm SA/CUGIR 7.62 X 39mm semi-automatic assault rifle and illegal hollow-point rounds. He was allegedly selling heroin from a vacant second-floor apartment in a high-intensity drug trafficking area in the 100 block of Alexander Avenue in Newark. The State Police arrested him on Feb. 16, 2012, and recovered the assault weapon from the apartment.
• On Feb. 29, the State Police arrested three convicted felons who allegedly were trafficking guns from Newark to Monmouth County. Dana Jackson, 40, of Aberdeen, allegedly acquired guns from Damien Coleman, 32, of Newark, and sold them with Curtis Mitchell, 39, of Cliffwood. Jackson was indicted for alleged possession of heroin and three sales of handguns, and Mitchell was indicted for one gun sale. Coleman was indicted separately for possession of heroin and two handguns. All are charged with possessing handguns as convicted felons.

A list of the indictments is attached, and copies of 20 of the 21 indictments are posted with this release at www.njpublicsafety.com. One indictment was sealed. A list of those arrested by the State Police Intelligence Section on gun charges since January is also attached. The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Many of the guns seized are community guns or are the subject of active investigations and are not listed in the arrest list.

Seized guns are tested and entered into the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network. NIBIN testing uses a laser to analyze each striation on bullets and shell casings. These patterns, like fingerprints, are stored in the database and compared to bullets and casings from other cases. New Jersey has five ballistics labs run by the State Police and the Essex, Bergen, Passaic and Somerset County Sheriff’s Offices. The labs also test guns for operability and do serial number restorations.

INDICTMENTS: *

1. Sealed Indictment – One Defendant
2. Gershon Thompson, Newark, DOB: 1/22/1985
3. Alessi Gonzalez, Vineland, DOB: 10/5/1986
4. Victor M. Jimenez Jr., Landisville, DOB: 9/29/1982
5. Reginald V. Brown, Lawnside, DOB: 2/7/1976
6. Curtis Vauters, Newark, DOB: 5/18/1983
7. Shawn D. Boles, Camden, DOB: 11/12/1972
8. Tamano Macalbe, Hazlet, DOB: 4/23/1969
9. Joseph David Burton, Ewing, DOB: 2/26/1985
10. Francisco Gonzalez, Trenton, DOB: 4/27/1977
    Reuben Rios, Trenton, DOB: 1/9/1991
    Juan Rivera, Trenton, DOB: 6/12/1989
    Edward Ramos, Trenton, DOB: 1/23/1991
11. Dana Jackson, Aberdeen, DOB: 8/21/1971
    Curtis Mitchell, Cliffwood, DOB: 12/27/1972
12. Anthony D. Griffith, Newark, DOB: 3/12/1970
    Ali K. Simmons, Newark, DOB: 3/30/1968
    Andrew E. Sanders, Newark, DOB: 6/4/1965
13. Taris J. Hall, Trenton, DOB: 2/9/1990
14. Christopher Hanley, Concord, N.H., DOB: 5/21/1984
15. Dwayne Johnson, Newark, DOB: 10/14/1971
16. Damien Coleman, Newark, DOB: 8/2/1979
17. Travis F. Swepson, Newark, DOB: 1/28/1991
    Eric D. McCoy, Newark, DOB: 12/2/1982
18. Maurice Williams, Jersey City, DOB: 12/26/1986
19. Maurice Belle, Willingboro 7/2/1986
20. George L. Bresnihan III, Roselle, DOB: 3/5/1964
    Nixon Provillon, Irvington, DOB: 4/4/1971
    Hady Vanessa Purboo, Irvington, DOB: 10/5/1968
    Jeffrey Vandunk, Sanford, N.C., DOB: 9/20/1970
21. Andre Doss, Linden, DOB: 5/3/1981
    Duquan Wells, Linden, DOB: 11/12/1981

* Note: Certain of these defendants also appear on the State Police arrest list.