Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Monmouth County Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm
TRENTON, N.J. – A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Natquan T. Johnson, 26, of Asbury Park, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp to an indictment charging him with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Judge Shipp imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On July 27, 2019, officers of the Asbury Park Police Department and detectives of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office confronted Johnson, a previously convicted felon, at his residence after observing online social media postings depicting Johnson in possession of a handgun earlier that same day. During a consensual search of the residence, law enforcement located the firearm, a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun loaded with nine rounds of ammunition. As a previously convicted felon, Johnson is not permitted to possess firearms under federal law.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Shipp sentenced Johnson 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 Acting Special Agent in Charge Craig B. Kailimai; officers of the Asbury Park Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police David Kelso; and detectives of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Lori Linskey, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian D. Brater of the Criminal Division in Trenton.