Essex County Man Sentenced to 108 Months in Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearm and Cocaine, Heroin, and Fentanyl

CAMDEN, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for illegally possessing fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine for distribution and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and in furtherance of drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Taurean Gordon, 40, of Irvington, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas to a superseding information charging him with one count of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Judge Bibas imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Gordon admitted that on February 11, 2021, he possessed heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine packaged for distribution with the intent to distribute. Gordon, a previously convicted felon, also admitted that he possessed a North American Arms Inc. revolver loaded with five rounds of ammunition.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Bibas sentenced Gordon to 3 years of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit the weapon and ammunition he used during the commission of the offense, as well as the $526 seized from him at the time of the offense.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited officers of the Newark Police Division under the direction of Director Fritz Fragé and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Ross A. Marchetti, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys DeNae Thomas of the Health Care Fraud Unit and George Barchini of the Narcotics/Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Unit.