Two Egg Harbor City men have pleaded guilty in connection with a 2017 car stop that led to guns and drugs. Kenneth Burrell, 39, admitted to being the leader of the drug-trafficking network, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner announced Wednesday. In his plea, Burrell said he directed multiple heroin sales in Egg Harbor City in 2016, and possessed a community gun in Mullica Township. A community gun is one shared by different members of a group. During the stop in Mullica Township, investigators found seven handguns and multiple magazines in the trunk and a loaded Glock inside the passenger compartment of the car, Tyner said. More than 120 folds of heroin were also recovered.
Investigators seized 21 firearms, more than 10,000 bags of heroin in fentanyl and 10 ounces of cocaine in a two-month investigation that resulted in 16 arrests of Atlantic County residents. Kenneth Burrell, 39, of Egg Harbor City, allegedly led the organization, which trafficked illegal drugs and firearms in Pleasantville and Egg Harbor City. He was arrested in another drug raid in 2015, just six months after he was released from a prison, where he served 2½
Source: breakingac.com/16-arrested-in-trafficking-of-guns-and-drugs-in-atlantic-county/
Burrell pleaded guilty to first-degree leader of a narcotics trafficking network, second-degree conspiracy to distribute heroin and community gun, second-degree distribution of heroin, fourth-degree hindering apprehension and second-degree distribution of heroin and fourth-degree resisting by flight. Burrell also admitted he directed three people to sell heroin for him, and he took orders and set prices for the heroin being sold. Three men in Georgia also worked with him to obtain guns and illegally bring them to New Jersey, he admitted. Burrell, who has multiple past convictions, is currently charged under federal indictment for illegal purchase of those firearms in Georgia. His plea agreement recommends the New Jersey cases be served concurrently, and permits any sentence imposed by the Federal District Court for the illegal firearms purchase to run concurrent to this one. Co-defendant Tyshon Nieves, 26, also pleaded guilty Monday to possession of 70 bags of fentanyl with the intent to distribute. The plea recommends a prison sentence of four years with a two-year period of parole ineligibility, but Nieves is permitted to make an application to Recovery Court for a probationary sentence. Nieves was released from custody upon entry of guilty plea and his application to Recovery Court is pending. Joshua Sims, 19, of Augusta, Georgia, previously pleaded guilty to second-degree possession of the.40-caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun located in the interior of the March 2017 car stop. Sims admitted the Glock was a “community gun” that he brought with him from Georgia, and said the Glock had been transferred among two or more people who engaged in criminal activity while possessing that gun. The plea agreement recommended Sims be sentenced to 3½ years in prison with a one-year period of parole ineligibility. He was sentenced last week to a lesser sentence and — with 392 days’ credit for time served — he was released. Cases against co-defendants Scott Dorn, 19, and Leonard Allen, 27, both of Egg Harbor City are still pending. Dorn was initially released following his March 16 arrest, but then was arrested twice for possession of heroin with the intent to distribute. After that, he was ordered held. Allen also remains in custody.
