Essex County Convicted Felon Sentenced to 124 Months in Prison for his Role in an Armed Carjacking with an Assault Rifle, Along with Firearms and Narcotics Offenses

NEWARK, N.J. - An Essex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today for his role in using an assault rifle during an armed carjacking, as well as possessing two firearms and controlled substances with the intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.

Quadir Whitehead, 32, of Newark, previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to six counts of an indictment charging him with one count of carjacking, one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, two counts of conspiracy, one count of possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Judge Arleo imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

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

On August 6, 2020, Whitehead and two accomplices committed a gunpoint carjacking in Irvington, New Jersey. During the carjacking, Whitehead ordered one of the two victims to get out of the car while pointing an assault rifle at that victim. Thereafter, Whitehead got into the car and drove away. On September 5, 2020, law enforcement officers saw Whitehead engaging in narcotics activity in Newark and arrested him. After arresting Whitehead, law enforcement officers recovered a distribution quantity of narcotics, as well as one assault rifle and one revolver, which Whitehead admitted were the same firearms that were used in the carjacking in Irvington.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Whitehead to five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents and members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark; members of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda and Chief of Police Sharonda Morris; and members of the Irvington Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Tracy Bowers, with the investigation leading to the charges and guilty plea.

The investigation was conducted as part of the Newark Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The Newark VCI was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, and the City of Newark's Department of Public Safety for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Newark. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) New Jersey Division, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, the Essex County Sheriff's Office, New Jersey State Parole, Union County Jail, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, New Jersey Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, and the Irvington Police Department.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Levin, Chief of the Cybercrime Unit, and Vincent D. Romano of the National Security Unit in Newark.

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Defense counsel: Stephen Turano, Esq.