United States Drug Enforcement Administration

NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Craig Carpenito, and Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Newark Field Division Charlie J. Patterson, announced seventeen people have been charged for their roles as members and associates of a Paterson-based street gang involved in the distribution of narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base.

Nine defendants were arrested today and seven were already in state custody. One defendant remains at large. Those arrested today are scheduled to have their initial appearances this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court. See chart below.

“The removal of these gang members from the streets of Paterson have made the city a safer place,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Gibson. “The DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue to target those individuals and organizations who choose to put communities at risk by dealing dangerous narcotics.”

“Gang members who traffic in narcotics pump poison into New Jersey streets and put our citizens at risk of addiction and violence,” said U.S. Attorney Carpenito. “The charges announced today result from the combined work of our federal, state, and local partners, and will help ensure that these defendants no longer threaten our communities with these harms and instead are held responsible for their crimes.”

“Today’s arrests are a direct result of the hard work and collaboration between ATF, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and our local, state, and federal partners in addressing gangs and their associative violence,” said ATF Special Agent-In-Charge Charlie J. Patterson. “Without question, gangs destroy communities. Let these arrests serve as a deterrent to those who think they have free reign to utilize the illegal drug trade to facilitate violence and spread fear in hopes of creating strongholds in our communities. ATF will continue to make addressing violent crime a priority and will stand together with our partners to make the City of Paterson a safer place for all of us.”

The complaint charges the defendants – all Paterson residents – in three interrelated drug conspiracies involving the distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base in the Passaic County area. One defendant, Tawan Grier, is additionally charged with distribution of cocaine base and heroin, and two of the defendants, Najier Boone and Davine Campbell, are charged with distribution of cocaine base.

The defendants are all members and associates of the 230 Boys street gang, which operates primarily on Rosa Parks Boulevard and Godwin Avenue in Paterson. Through numerous controlled purchases of narcotics, consensually recorded telephone calls and text messages, physical surveillance, and the analysis of telephone call detail records, law enforcement determined that from September 2018 through October 1, 2019, the defendants conspired to distribute narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base.

The counts of conspiracy to distribute at least 100 grams of heroin and 28 grams of cocaine base each carry a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a fine of at least $5 million. The counts of conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl, and the distribution of heroin and cocaine base, carry a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $1 million.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gibson in Newark; special agents and task force officers with the ATF, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patterson; officers of the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; officers of the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Director Jerry Speziale and Police Chief Troy Oswald; detectives of the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Camelia Valdes, and the Passaic County Sheriff's Department, under the direction of Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bergen County Sheriff's Office and the Belleville and Livingston police departments for their assistance with the case.

DEFENDANTS AND CHARGES

*denotes at large

19-33