A convicted felon from Jersey City received a 94-mont prison sentence for using an illegal firearm in a shooting “in the middle of a crowded street” back in 2020, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced.
Christian Freire, 29, of Jersey City, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to an indictment charging him with one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
Martini imposed the sentence in federal court in Newark on Tuesday.
A little after midnight on August 29th, 2020, Freire was walking with a group of individuals toward Martin Luther King Drive in Jersey City when he observed two men approaching and – as caught on a surveillance camera from a nearby residence – fired multiple rounds at the men in the middle of the street.
This sent a large group of bystanders running from the area.
When Jersey City Police Department officers arrived on the scene, Freire attempted to hide, but then fled as officers approached him. Officers observed Freire tossing a handgun towards a church lawn as he was fleeing.
After apprehending Freire, a previously convicted felon, the officers ultimately recovered the black Taurus PT111 G2 9mm handgun with an obliterated serial number that Freire threw.
A victim of the shooting was transported to Jersey City Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the leg.
In addition to the prison term, Martini sentenced Freire to three years of supervised release.
Sellinger credited the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Director James Shea, for the investigation. He also thanked the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy.
This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI).
The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department, for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City.