A Mercer County man was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for his role as a member of a drug trafficking conspiracy and his possession of multiple semiautomatic firearms in furtherance of his unlawful drug-trafficking activities, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
According to federal officials, Jubri West, 21, of Trenton, previously pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with one count each of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin; possession with intent to distribute heroin; and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Federal officials said that in October 2018, West and 25 other individuals were charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute heroin; West and others also were charged with firearms offenses relating to their drug trafficking.
On February 27, 2020, a grand jury returned a 10-count third superseding indictment charging West and six other defendants with conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and various other drug and firearms offenses.
Of the 26 defendants originally charged in the criminal complaint, West is the 23rd defendant to have pleaded guilty. The charges in the third superseding indictment remain pending against three defendants.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From as early as October 2017 to October 2018, West and others engaged in a large drug trafficking conspiracy that operated in the areas of Martin Luther King Boulevard, Sanford Street, Middle Rose Street, Southard Street, Hoffman Avenue, Chambers Street, and Coolidge Avenue in Trenton, and which sought to profit from the distribution of heroin and numerous other controlled substances.
Through the interception of telephone calls and text messages pursuant to court-authorized wiretap orders, controlled purchases of heroin, the use of confidential sources of information, law enforcement learned that Jakir Taylor and Jerome Roberts obtained regular supplies of hundreds of “bricks” of heroin from David Antonio, whom they referred to as “Pop” and “Papi,” and that they distributed those supplies of heroin to other dealers and users in and around Trenton.
During the investigation of the conspiracy, on Sept. 6, 2018, law enforcement officers stopped a green 2002 Volkswagen Passat driven by, and registered to, Timothy Wimbush, a/k/a “Young Money,” and occupied by West, Taquan Williams, a/k/a Trip,” and a juvenile.
Law enforcement officers recovered from West’s pocket a quantity of heroin, and during a subsequent search of the vehicle, law enforcement recovered from a secret trap compartment under the rear passenger’s seat approximately 57 bricks of heroin, four semiautomatic firearms – including a .223 caliber assault rifle linked with a shooting in Trenton four days earlier – and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Law enforcement officers identified the heroin as having been supplied by other members of the conspiracy. The charges against Wimbush and Williams remain pending.