Newark, N.J.-Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II announced today that a Newark man has pleaded guilty to narcotics and gun possession charges stemming from a 2025 Narcotics Task Force investigation.
On Wednesday, July 15, 2026, Edward Thompson, 47, of Newark pleaded guilty 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. The State is recommending a sentence of 20 years in New Jersey State Prison to run concurrently with a 10-year sentence, with five years parole ineligibility.
On February 6, 2025, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force executed a search warrant at 801 North 6th Street in Newark. Inside the apartment detectives recovered more than half an ounce of cocaine, oxycodone pills (approximately half of which tested positive for fentanyl) and envelopes containing fentanyl that were packaged to resemble heroin envelopes, and drug paraphernalia.
As law enforcement entered the apartment, the defendant threw a black safe out of the window. Detectives later recovered a silver Smith and Wesson .38 special revolver inside the safe.
Investigators also recovered and reviewed videos Thompson recorded of himself cutting and packaging the cocaine for distribution.
Following the plea, Assistant Prosecutor Orlando Hurtado said, “This plea is the culmination of a thorough investigation by the detectives of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force and the compelling evidence they collected. The dangers posed by cocaine, fentanyl, and oxycodone cannot be overstated.”
Assistant Prosecutor Ibn Alston added, “This recommended 20-year sentence sends a strong message that those who traffic narcotics and possess firearms illegally will be held fully accountable.”
Thompson is scheduled for sentencing October 17, 2026.
Anyone with information related to criminal activity is encouraged to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Tips Line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432. All calls will remain confidential.
EDWARD THOMPSON
