An Egg Harbor City man who served time for a drug-induced death was one of four men arrested in a gun-and-drugs investigation that led to nine guns and 14 large-capacity magazines.
“The illegal guns and drugs we seized in this investigation illustrate the serious threat allegedly posed by these defendants in Atlantic County,” acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Thursday. “Stopping the trafficking of deadly illicit weapons and drugs into our communities and prosecuting those responsible are top priorities for the Murphy administration and my department.”
The investigation involved 23 controlled purchases of drugs or weapons from the four men, according to Platkin. The guns included two assault rifles, one of which is a fully automatic, untraceable “ghost” gun.
“Ghost guns” or “privately made firearms” are not imprinted with a serial number registered with a federally licensed manufacturer and therefore are difficult for law enforcement to trace to their purchaser.
“We have seen an alarming proliferation in New Jersey of untraceable ‘ghost guns,’ which have become the weapon of choice for many violent criminals because of the inability of law enforcement to trace them when they are used to commit a shooting,” Platkin said. “Each time we seize one of these guns from the black market — in this case a fully automatic assault rifle — we save lives.”
Rasan McGee, 30, allegedly had a 9mm handgun with a large-capacity magazine and 17 grams of crack cocaine at his home.
It's not his first time charged with being part of a drug-trafficking gang.
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McGee was out on bail as an alleged member of the 800 Blok in 2013, when he was arrested in the overdose death of 26-year-old Steven Janson. The Stafford Township man was found dead in his car. McGee, his drug dealer, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison. He was released Nov. 8, 2018.
He and two others were arrested Jan. 27, when a collaborative task force investigation targeting the trafficking of illegal guns and drugs in Atlantic City and the county led to their doors.
McGee alleged sold a handgun with a large-capacity magazine and oxycodone pills during the investigation.
Jamal George, 26, of Mays Landing, is charged with selling two assault rifles, each equipped with a 30-round magazine, as well as a handgun with a large-capacity magazine.
Rashawn Parks, 31, of Galloway Township, was found with about seven bricks of heroin, a brick contains 50 baggies of heroin. Inside his home was also 19 Oxycontin pills and drug-packaging material.
Ricardo Lugo Jr., 21, of Egg Harbor Township, was arrested on Feb. 16. Investigators allegedly seized 9mm handgun with a defaced serial number and about 6 ounces of methamphetamine.
He was allegedly distributing large amounts of heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine in and around Atlantic City and Mays Landing.
“This operation is another example of how effective the Atlantic City Metro Task Force has been in targeting these trafficking networks, shutting them down and saving lives in the process," said Col. Patrick Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. "By preventing these deadly weapons and narcotics from reaching the streets, we have undoubtedly made our communities safer.”
George, Parks and McGee were ordered held in jail following detention hearings. Lugo is in the Atlantic County Justice Facility awaiting his hearing.
The task force has made hundreds of arrests since its formation, taking scores of guns and a large quantity of drugs off the streets, according to Director Lyndsay Ruotolo of the Division of Criminal Justice.
“We will continue to work with the New Jersey State Police and our other federal, state, county and local task force partners to arrest and prosecute the criminals who seek to profit by putting lives at risk,” Ruotolo said.
Note: The Atlantic County Justice Facility does not release mugshots under an order by the former prosecutor. The above photo is from the state Department of Justice.
