Previously Convicted Felon Sentenced to 100 Months in Prison for Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm and Possessing With Intent to Distribute Narcotics

TRENTON, N.J. - A Mercer County, New Jersey, man with six prior felony convictions was sentenced today to 100 months in prison for firearms and distribution of controlled substances offenses, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

Alfred Donaldson, 39, of Trenton, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson to an information charging him with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine.

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

On Jan. 4, 2019, law enforcement officers arrived at Donaldson's residence to execute two arrest warrants issued for his failure to appear for his sentencing hearings on unrelated charges at the Mercer County Superior Court. They lawfully entered the residence and recovered a 9-millimeter Taurus handgun loaded with eight rounds of ammunition, 27 bricks of heroin, and more than one ounce of cocaine. At the time of the firearm and narcotics possession, Donaldson had sustained several convictions, including three convictions for controlled substance offenses. As a previously convicted felon, Donaldson is not permitted to possess firearms under federal law.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Thompson sentenced Donaldson to three years of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Newark Division, Trenton Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey L. Matthews; officers of the Mercer County Sheriff's Office, under the direction of Sheriff John A. Kemler; and the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Angelo Onofri, with the investigation leading to today's sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray A. Mateo of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.