By: Richard L. Smith
A federal judge sentenced a Trenton man to 19 years in prison for his role as the leader of a significant drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed more than one kilogram of heroin in Trenton and the surrounding area, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
According to federal officials, Jakir Taylor, aka “Jak,” 32, previously pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to Counts One and Seven of the first superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Chief Judge Wolfson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From October 2017 to October 2018, Taylor and others engaged in a large narcotics conspiracy that operated in the areas of Martin Luther King Boulevard, Sanford Street, Middle Rose Street, Southard Street, Hoffman Avenue, and Coolidge Avenue in Trenton, and which sought to profit from the distribution of heroin and numerous other controlled substances.
Taylor and conspirator Jerome Roberts obtained regular supplies of hundreds of “bricks” of heroin from conspirator David Antonio, whom they referred to as “Papi.”
Taylor and Roberts agreed to obtain from Antonio a “motherlode” supply of as many as 1,500 bricks – approximately 1.5 kilograms of heroin – in a single delivery.
Taylor said that he intended to “flood the streets” of Trenton with this large supply.
Taylor also admitted that he and his conspirators possessed at least one firearm to assist his drug trafficking operations. On multiple occasions during the conspiracy, Taylor sought to obtain additional guns from other sources.
During coordinated arrests on Oct. 25, 2018, law enforcement arrested Taylor, Roberts, Antonio, and other defendants and recovered more than 1.4 kilograms of heroin from Antonio’s residence.
In addition to the prison term, Chief Judge Wolfson sentenced Taylor to five years of supervised release.
In October 2018, Taylor and 25 other individuals were charged with a criminal complaint of conspiracy to distribute heroin.
On Apr. 11, 2019, a grand jury returned a nine-count superseding indictment charging Taylor and eight other defendants with conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and various other drug and firearm offenses.
Twenty-three of the 26 defendants charged in the complaint have pleaded guilty. The remaining three were convicted after trial in October 2021.