Monmouth County Man Admits Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm

NEWARK, N.J. – A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man today admitted illegally possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Ahmed A-Hady, 36, of Keyport, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Court Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an information charging him with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.       

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Dec. 10, 2019, there was a mass shooting in Jersey City in which two individuals, David Nathaniel Anderson and Francine Graham, killed three civilians after earlier killing a law enforcement officer. After the shooting, law enforcement recovered from Anderson’s right rear pants pocket a handwritten note that contained a telephone number ending in 4115, and a Keyport, New Jersey, address. Law enforcement also recovered several weapons carried by Anderson and Graham, including an AR-15 rifle.

FBI agents determined that the phone number ending in 4115 contained on the note belonged to A-Hady. Law enforcement also determined that the Keyport address listed on the note was a storefront for a pawn shop. On the evening of Dec. 13, 2019, law enforcement officers traveled to the pawnshop and interviewed A-Hady and two of his relatives.

Law enforcement lawfully searched both the pawnshop and A-Hady’s private residence. During the search of the pawnshop, law enforcement recovered multiple rifles, handguns, and one shotgun. In addition, during the searches of the pawnshop and A-Hady’s private residence, law enforcement recovered over 400 rounds of ammunition, including a large number of hollow point bullets.

One of the weapons recovered from the pawnshop was a Sig Sauer .22 caliber rifle capable of accepting a large capacity magazine. Records showed that A-Hady purchased this rifle in Florida on Oct. 23, 2012, a time when he, as a convicted felon, was prohibited from possessing firearms. The purchase of this rifle came approximately five months after A-Hady was convicted in New Jersey Superior Court of a crime that was punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than one year. 

As part of the guilty plea, A-Hady also agreed to forfeit his interest, if any, in the firearms recovered during the search of the pawnshop.

The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 9, 2021.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson in Newark; the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General, under the direction of Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal; and the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to the plea. U.S. Attorney Carpenito also thanked the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, and the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Director James Shea, for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronnell Wilson, Chief of the National Security Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dean C. Sovolos and Thomas S. Kearney, also of the National Security Unit.