Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that the leader of a major weapons trafficking ring in Newark pleaded guilty today to a first-degree weapons charge and faces a lengthy state prison sentence. He was indicted in an investigation by the New Jersey State Police Weapons Trafficking North Unit and the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.
Louis Boggs, 32, of Newark, pleaded guilty today to first-degree possession of a gun and second-degree conspiracy to illegally possess and distribute firearms before Superior Court Judge Verna G. Leath in Essex County. Because he had a prior conviction for robbery, which falls under the No Early Release Act, Boggs was subject to first-degree gun possession charges.
Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Boggs be sentenced to 18 years in state prison, including nine years of parole ineligibility. Deputy Attorney General Amy Sieminski took the guilty plea for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau. Sentencing for Boggs is scheduled for Oct. 13.
Boggs was indicted on Feb. 5, 2015 with 17 alleged associates. The investigation revealed that Boggs and his associates used his residence in the first block of 3rd Avenue and a residence in the 700 block of South 15th Street as bases of operation where they planned their crimes, met prior to gun sales and conducted some sales.
The State Police executed search warrants at the two residences on Dec. 3, 2013. Most of the defendants were arrested on that day or soon after.
The detectives seized a revolver in Boggs’ home and numerous bullets. Previously, from August to December 2013, State Police detectives orchestrated 22 controlled purchases of guns from ring members. In these transactions, ring members allegedly sold 11 illegal assault weapons – eight equipped with illegal large-capacity magazines – as well as a rifle and 12 handguns, some with illegal hollow-point bullets.
Two of the handguns were stolen, and a third with a defaced serial number was linked by ballistic testing to a murder in Newark.