By: Richard L. Smith
A member of a Newark street gang made his initial court appearance today on firearms charges related to the shooting of multiple victims, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced.
Federal officials said Mr. Munir Muhammad, aka “Mu,” 19, of Newark, is charged by complaint with one count of possession of a machinegun and possession of an unregistered firearm.
Muhammad appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge José R. Almonte and was detained.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Since 2021, law enforcement officers have been investigating a series of retaliatory shootings between rival neighborhoods in Newark involving individuals in the area of Clinton Place and Weequahic Avenue, which is known on the street as “Cake Block.”
These individuals are aligned with others who operate in the area of Vorhees Street and individuals who operate around the Bradley Court Housing Complex.
Muhammad is a member and associate of this neighborhood street gang. He and his fellow gang members have committed numerous shootings that targeted individuals who operate in the area of the Oscar Miles Housing Complex and Goodwin Avenue.
On April 8, 2023, law enforcement officers responded to a shooting in the area of the Oscar Miles Housing Complex and discovered three shooting victims, one of whom remains in critical condition.
On April 12, 2023, after the investigation identified Muhammad as a primary suspect in the shooting, law enforcement arrested Muhammad while he was in possession of a 9mm handgun equipped with a machinegun conversion device and loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition in an extended magazine.
A subsequent ballistics analysis of the machine gun confirmed that the machine gun fired 28 rounds during April 8, 2023, shooting at the Oscar Miles Housing Complex.
The charge of possession of a machinegun carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of possession of an unregistered firearm carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.