Hudson County Man Admits Drug Conspiracy and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine
NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger announced a Hudson County, New Jersey man today admitted conspiring to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine.
Jerome Powell, 43, of Jersey City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Court Judge Susan D. Wigenton to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
From August 2019 through Feb. 2, 2020, Powell and others agreed to possess and distribute narcotics in Jersey City. Upon his arrest, Powell had 400 vials of cocaine in his pocket.
The charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 8, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson, New Jersey Division; and members of the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea, with the investigation leading to the charges.
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