NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for illegal possession of a firearm and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig announced.
Kevon A. Anderson, 25, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden, who imposed the sentence today by videoconference.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Sept. 10, 2019, while investigating a shooting from the previous evening near Hawthorn Avenue, Newark police officers approached a group of men sitting in an adjacent park to ask them whether they had any information about the shooting. Officers detected the smell of marijuana, and one of the men, later identified as Anderson, abruptly stood up and walked away from the officers. One of the officers saw a bulge in Anderson’s front pants pocket, which the officer believed could be a weapon, and asked Anderson to sit back down. Anderson disregarded the officer and ran across the park. The officers pursued Anderson and caught up with him. As the officers approached him to pat him down, Anderson told them he had a gun on him. In addition to the gun, the officers recovered ecstasy pills and large quantities of marijuana packaged for sale from a fanny pack around Anderson’s waist, as well as a black bag he was carrying. There were also additional live rounds of ammunition in the fanny pack.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Hayden sentenced Anderson to three years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit in Newark.
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