Union Man Indicted for Allegedly Selling Assault Weapons in Newark Grocery Store

A Union Township man was indicted Tuesday for illegally trafficking six guns, including an assault weapon with hollow-point bullets, during an undercover investigation mostly conducted at a Newark supermarket, Acting Attorney General John Hoffman said.

Kareem Tillery, 28, was indicted for second-degree possession of an assault firearm, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, third-degree unlawful possession of a shotgun, third-degree unlawful disposition of an assault firearm, fourth-degree unlawful disposition of a firearm, fourth-degree unlawful disposition of a prohibited large-capacity magazine, fourth-degree possession of illegal hollow-point bullets and unlawful possession of a prohibited large-capacity magazine.

“By going after gang members and repeat offenders who carry guns, as well as the weapons traffickers who supply those guns, we’re substantially reducing gun violence in Newark and Trenton,” Hoffman said. “We’re committed to these efforts, which are making the targeted areas safer for law-abiding residents.”

The charges against Tillery stem from an undercover investigation by the New Jersey State Police Weapons Trafficking North Unit. Between Feb. 12 and April 24, 2013, Tillery allegedly sold the following six guns to an undercover agent working with the State Police: 

• Intratec .22-caliber assault weapon with a large-capacity magazine and numerous hollow-point bullets,
• .25-caliber pistol,
• 9mm pistol,
• Mossberg pump 12-gauge shotgun,
• .38-caliber revolver, and
• .44-caliber revolver with hollow-point bullets.

Tillery allegedly sold the assault weapon, the shotgun and two of the handguns at a supermarket that he frequented on Stuyvesant Avenue in Newark. He allegedly sold the other two handguns at his home in Union Township.

“Our undercover detectives bought an assault weapon, a shotgun, and two handguns at a Newark Supermarket where most families go to buy bread, eggs, and milk,” said Col. Rick Fuentes, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.  “These sales are not so underground when they are occurring at local venues.”

The second-degree weapons charges carry a sentence of 5 to 10 years in state prison. Tillery is being prosecuted under Hoffman’s Targeted Anti-Gun (TAG) initiative, which prohibits prosecutors in Essex and Mercer counties from offering any plea deal less than the mandatory minimum term of 3 ½ years without parole—or three years in cases such as this one that predate the Graves Act enhancement.  

“We’re putting gun-toting criminals on notice that if they don’t leave their guns at home, we have a new home for them in prison,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice.