Five Jersey City men have been charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine, with three of those defendants remaining at large, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Jerome Powell, 40, Raheem Rogers, 28, Karee Cunningham, 24, Rafiq Holmes, 40, and Matthew Collier, 36, all of Jersey City, are charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute quantities of both heroin and cocaine, Carpenito said in a statement
Rogers and Powell were arrested this morning. The other defendants remain at large.
The two defendants appeared before U.S. District Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court this morning, with Rogers released on bail and Powell detained.
From in or about August 2019 through on or about February 2, 2020, law enforcement observed Powell, Rogers, Cunningham, Holmes, and Collier working together to possess and distribute controlled substances on and around Bartholdi Avenue in Jersey City, according to court documents.
The conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine charge has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
This investigation was part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), where the U.S. Attorney’s Office has partnered with state, federal, county, and local law enforcement to investigate crime in Jersey City.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents and task force officers of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson, New Jersey Division; and members of the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Michael Kelly, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Agnew of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Newark.
