Hudson County Man Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Drug Conspiracy and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine

 

A Hudson County, New Jersey, man was sentenced to 51 months in prison for conspiring to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Jerome Powell, 43, of Jersey City, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty 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. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence by videoconference on Jan. 10, 2023.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

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.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Powell to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Daniel J. Kafafian, 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 today’s sentencing.

This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department, for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate to strategize and prioritize the prosecution of violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Jersey City Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, the Hudson County Jail, and the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center.