By: Richard L. Smith
A Newark resident has been sentenced to 58 months in federal prison for his involvement in a narcotics conspiracy and illegal firearms possession, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Carlos Ovidio Gonzalez, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Clair C. Cecchi in Newark federal court.
Gonzalez previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon.
Court documents detail that on December 19, 2022, Gonzalez conspired with another individual to distribute approximately one kilogram of cocaine and 100 grams of fentanyl. He was arrested shortly after arriving at a predetermined location in Kearny to finalize the sale.
A subsequent search of his home and an apartment led to the discovery of two loaded firearms, an unloaded firearm, ammunition, drug packaging materials, and roughly 482 grams of heroin.
Gonzalez’s criminal record includes a prior conviction in 2009 in New Jersey Superior Court, Morris County, for first-degree drug distribution, second-degree weapons possession during a drug offense, and second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, for which he was previously sentenced to 30 years.
In addition to his 58-month prison sentence, Gonzalez will serve three years of supervised release following his incarceration.
