By: Yuritza Arroyo
Federal authorities announced that an Essex County man was sentenced to 72 months in prison for possessing quantities of heroin and cocaine he intended to distribute and possessing several firearms, including an AM-15 rifle.
According to federal officials, Cedric Lewis, 32, of Bloomfield, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference to a superseding information charging him with two counts of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and two counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
Officials say the sentence was imposed on Jan. 5, 2023, in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Sept. 20, 2020, investigators learned that Lewis was in a car in the Newark/Elizabeth area while he possessed a quantity of heroin and cocaine he intended to sell, as well as an AM-15 rifle with a high-capacity magazine that contained 30 rounds of .300 caliber ammunition.
Court documents state Law enforcement officers subsequently lawfully searched Lewis’s apartment and recovered a 9-millimeter pistol with an extended magazine; a .40 caliber pistol with an extended magazine; drug paraphernalia and a scale; $800 in cash, and heroin and cocaine that Lewis intended to sell.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Martinotti sentenced Lewis to three years of supervised release.