Essex County Man Found Guilty of Unlawfully Possessing Firearms and Ammunition Following Trial

NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, N.J., man with a felony criminal record has been convicted by a federal jury for carrying two loaded semi-automatic pistols, Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello announced.

Ken Anderson, 33, of Newark, was convicted of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition following a trial that began on February 3 before United States District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Newark federal court.  Sentencing is scheduled for June 23, 2026.

According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:

Detectives with the Essex County Sheriff’s Office responded to a tip from a confidential informant in the early evening of July 22, 2025, about a man with a firearm in the area of the Wynona Lipman Gardens housing development located in Newark’s Central Ward.  Detectives located Anderson sitting in a vehicle, double-parked within the housing development.  When the detectives approached with their sirens and lights, Anderson fled.  He drove recklessly through the housing development, reached a dead-end street, and rolled out of his moving vehicle.  Before the vehicle crashed into a handicapped sign, he grabbed a backpack, and ran away through the housing development.  He jumped over fences, then ran across Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and onto Interstate 280, where officers arrested him.  Detectives found two loaded firearms from the backpack and a bullet from one of Anderson’s pant pockets.

The charge of being a felon in possession carries a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello credited the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Roddy, and the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Amir D. Jones, with the investigation.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Rachelle M. Navarro of the Bank Integrity, Money Laundering, and Recovery Unit, and Assistant United States Attorney Sean Nadel of the International Narcotics and Trafficking Unit in Newark.

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Defense counsel: Tyler Newman, Esq. and Mallory Olwig, Esq.