By: Richard L. Smith
A Passaic County man has been found guilty on multiple federal firearms and narcotics charges following a three-day trial in Newark, federal officials announced.
David Reams, 37, of Paterson, was convicted by a federal jury on January 27, 2026, of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
The verdict was returned before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 30, 2026.
According to evidence presented at trial and court filings, on May 6, 2024, members of the Paterson Police Department observed Reams engaging in behavior consistent with carrying a firearm.
When detectives attempted to stop him, authorities said he fled.
Officers ultimately apprehended Reams and recovered a 9-millimeter handgun loaded with an extended magazine, along with more than 450 individual doses of fentanyl and crack cocaine from his person.
Federal prosecutors noted that the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The narcotics distribution charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $1 million.
Additionally, the conviction for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed. 
That charge carries a potential maximum of life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
Court records show that Reams was previously convicted in 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. In that case, Judge Chesler sentenced him to 103 months in federal prison.