NEWARK – Five men from Jersey City have been charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute narcotics, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Officials say, Jerome Powell, 40, Raheem Rogers, 28, Karee Cunningham, 24, Rafiq Holmes, 40, and Matthew Collier, 36, are charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute quantities of both heroin and cocaine. Rogers and Powell were arrested this morning. The other defendants remain at large.
The two defendants appeared on February 4, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court. Raheem Rogers was released on bail. Jerome Powell was detained.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From in or about August 2019 through on or about February 2, law enforcement observed Jerome Powell, Raheem Rogers, Karee Cunningham, Rafiq Holmes, and Matthew Collier working together to possess and distribute controlled substances on and around Bartholdi Avenue in Jersey City according to officials.
The conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine charge has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito 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 Chief of Police Michael Kelly, with the investigation leading to the charges.
This investigation was part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), where the U.S. Attorney’s Office has partnered with state, federal, county, and local law enforcement to investigate crime in Jersey City.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Agnew of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.