NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey man was arraigned today after being indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple narcotics and weapons offenses, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Hector Gonzalez, 68, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was indicted on Oct. 5, 2020, on one count of possessing with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine; one count of being a prior felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Gonzalez had been charged by criminal complaint on Oct. 24, 2019. He appeared for his arraignment by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer and pleaded not guilty.
According to documents filed in this case:
On June 22, 2019, members of the Jersey City Police Department executed a search warrant at Gonzalez’s apartment and discovered three firearms, ammunition, 148 glassine folds of heroin, cocaine, and over $1,300.
The narcotics charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The felon-in-possession charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. The charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited members of the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea; the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez; and special agents and task force officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson, Newark Field Division, with the investigation leading to the indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Trombly of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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