Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Salem County Man Charged with Possession of Firearm by Convicted Felon
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Salem County man made his initial appearance on a charge of illegally possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Jabbar Pierce, 41, of Penns Grove, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He appeared by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Skahill on Jan. 6, 2022, and was detained.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Nov. 9, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a residence in Penns Grove based on probable cause that Pierce, a six-time convicted felon, had committed firearms and drugs crimes and that evidence of those crimes would be at the residence. While executing the warrant, officers encountered Pierce, who told officers that anything illegal in the residence belonged to him. Pierce also told officers that they would find a firearm behind a couch and drugs in a cabinet. Upon searching the residence, officers recovered from behind the couch a .40 caliber rifle and detached 24-round magazine containing 14 rounds of ammunition. Officers also recovered suspected controlled substances and drug packaging from a kitchen cabinet.
The felon in possession of a firearm charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Camden Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey L. Matthews in Newark; the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Kristin J. Telsey; and the Penns Grove Police Department, under the direction of Officer in Charge Robert Frett, with the investigation leading to the charge.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.