FREEHOLD, NJ – A Monmouth County drug trafficker has been convicted after his trial of moving narcotics through the Jersey Shore.
According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, Marnell Johnson, 46, of Long Branch, New Jersey, was convicted on July 14, following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court. Johnson was convicted of possession with intent to distribute heroin; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
“On four occasions in early 2020, Johnson, a previously convicted felon, sold heroin to a confidential source. On April 8, 2020, the special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a federal search warrant of Johnson’s apartment and recovered heroin and packaging paraphernalia. The DEA also recovered a loaded .380 caliber semi-automatic firearm from the drawer of the same table on which Johnson’s heroin and packaging material were found,” court records show.
Johnson faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the count of possession with intent to distribute; 10 years in prison on the felon in possession count; and a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of life on the count charging possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which must run consecutive to the sentences imposed on the other counts. Johnson also faces a potential maximum fine of $1.5 million.