An Egg Harbor City man was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to multiple drug charges, including, first degree Leader of a Narcotics Trafficking Network, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced.
Officials said Kenneth Burrell, 40, was sentenced before Judge Bernard DeLury to 24 years in a New Jersey state prison and must serve 10 ½ years before he is eligible for parole.
According to authorities, during a motor vehicle stop on March 30, 2017, which occurred in Mullica Township and followed an extended narcotics investigation, personnel from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Gangs, Guns and Narcotics Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and other Federal, State, County and Local Law Enforcement agencies seized seven semi-automatic handguns, more than 120 folds of heroin, handgun magazines and various firearms accessories. Law enforcement officers involved in the stop located seven handguns and multiple magazines inside the vehicle’s trunk, and one loaded semi-automatic Glock inside the passenger compartment of the car.
Officials said today, Burrell pleaded guilty to an additional charge of second degree Unlawful Possession of a Handgun in connection to a traffic stop in Galloway Township on Dec. 26, 2016.
Kenneth Burrell pleaded guilty to the following charges:
• First degree Leader of a Narcotics Trafficking Network (24 year prison term, serve 10 ½ years)
• Second degree Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin (8 year prison term) and Community Gun (7 year prison with a 3 ½ period of parole ineligibility)
• Second degree Distribution of Heroin (3 year prison term with a 18 months period of parole ineligibility)
• Fourth degree Hindering
Apprehension (18 months prison term)
• Second degree distribution of heroin (10y prison with a 5y period of parole ineligibility) and 4th resisting by flight (18 months prison).
As part of his plea, Kenneth Burrell admitted: In 2017, he directed multiple sales of heroin in Egg Harbor City and possessed a community gun in Mullica Township. In 2016, he hindered his apprehension by giving a false identity to police in Galloway Township; and in 2015 he sold more than half an ounce of heroin in Mullica Township. Regarding the 2017 crimes, Burrell admitted he directed three persons to sell heroin for him, and he took orders and set prices for the heroin being sold. Burrell also admitted that three males in the State of Georgia worked with him to obtain the guns and illegally transport them back to New Jersey.
Officials said Burrell, who has multiple past convictions, is currently charged under federal indictment for illegal purchase of those firearms in GA. His plea agreement recommends the NJ cases be served concurrently, and permits any sentence imposed by the Federal District Court for the illegal firearms purchase to run concurrent to the NJ sentence. Burrell has been held in continuous custody since his arrest on March 30, 2017.
Anyone with information involving serious crimes is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-909-7800 or go to the Prosecutor’s Office Web site at http://www.acpo.org/tips.html and provide information by filling out the form anonymously on the Submit a Tip page.
People can also call Crime Stoppers at 609-652-1234 or 1-800-658-8477 (TIPS) or visit the Crime Stoppers Website at http://www.crimestoppersatlantic.com/. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those who commit crimes in Atlantic County.