By: Richard L. Smith
A Newark man has admitted to operating a drug production and distribution operation and illegally possessing a firearm following an investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force.
Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II announced that Edward Thompson, 47, of Newark, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, July 15, to first-degree maintaining or operating a controlled dangerous substance production facility and second-degree certain persons not to possess a firearm due to a prior conviction.
Under the plea agreement, the State is recommending a 20-year sentence in New Jersey State Prison to run concurrently with a separate 10-year sentence.
Thompson would be required to serve five years before becoming eligible for parole.
The charges stem from a February 6, 2025, search warrant executed by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force at an apartment on the 800 block of North 6th Street in Newark.
According to prosecutors, detectives recovered more than one-half ounce of cocaine, oxycodone pills, approximately half of which tested positive for fentanyl, as well as envelopes containing fentanyl packaged to resemble heroin and various items of drug distribution paraphernalia.
Authorities said that as detectives entered the apartment, Thompson threw a black safe out of a window. Investigators recovered the safe and found a silver Smith & Wesson .38 Special revolver inside.
Prosecutors also said detectives uncovered videos Thompson had recorded of himself cutting and packaging cocaine for distribution.
Following the guilty plea, Assistant Prosecutor Orlando Hurtado credited the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force for conducting a detailed investigation and collecting the evidence that led to the conviction, emphasizing the significant dangers posed by cocaine, fentanyl, and oxycodone in New Jersey communities.