By: Richard L. Smith
A 32-year-old Newark man has been sentenced in federal court for his involvement in a violent carjacking in Irvington, where he threatened a victim with an assault rifle before stealing a vehicle.
According to information released by U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer, Quadir Whitehead previously pleaded guilty to six federal charges, including carjacking, brandishing a firearm during a violent crime, weapons possession, drug distribution, and conspiracy offenses.
Federal authorities said the incident occurred on August 6, 2020, when Whitehead and two accomplices approached two victims during an armed carjacking in Irvington.
During the confrontation, Whitehead pointed an assault rifle at one of the victims and ordered that person out of the vehicle before getting behind the wheel and driving away.
Approximately one month later, on September 5, 2020, law enforcement officers observed Whitehead allegedly participating in drug-related activity in Newark and took him into custody.
Investigators subsequently recovered quantities of illegal drugs intended for distribution, along with an assault rifle and a revolver.
Authorities said Whitehead later acknowledged that the recovered weapons were the same firearms used during the Irvington carjacking.
Whitehead appeared before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court for sentencing.
In addition to his prison sentence, Whitehead was ordered to serve five years of supervised release following his incarceration.