Mercer County Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possessing Firearm Loaded With 30 Rounds of Ammunition in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking Crime
TRENTON, N.J. – A Mercer County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for possessing a handgun in furtherance of a drug crime, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Armond Holloway, 45, of Hamilton, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp via videoconference to Count Two of an indictment charging him with possession of a firearm in furtherance of possession with intent to distribute heroin. Judge Shipp imposed the sentence by videoconference today.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On July 31, 2017, Holloway was on parole after having served a term of imprisonment. Holloway’s parole officer received information from an anonymous source that Holloway, who had known gang affiliations, was in possession of a gun, 300-400 bricks of heroin, and a large amount of money at his residence.
On Aug. 1, 2017, the parole officer, along with other law enforcement officers, conducted a parole search of Holloway’s residence, where they recovered a Masterpiece Arms 9 mm firearm with an obliterated serial number, loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition, under Holloway’s bed. They also found a barrel extension that fit the gun. Also recovered from Holloway’s bedroom was more than $14,000 in cash and more than 400 bricks of heroin from Holloway’s basement.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Shipp sentenced Holloway to five years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey L. Matthews in Newark; the New Jersey State Parole Board, under the direction of Chairman Samuel J. Plumeri Jr.; and the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elisa T. Wiygul and Michelle S. Gasparian of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
