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Rashon Alexander, 42, of Long Branch took a plea deal from prosecutors in exchange for leniency at sentencing.
Acting on a tip, Eatontown police stopped Alexander this past January as he and another man approached a hotel where he was staying, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said.
They searched Alexander after he admitted having pot and found a .22-caliber RG Industries revolver in his pants pocket, Carpenito said.
As a convicted felon, Alexander was prohibited from possessing a firearm, the U.S. attorney said.
The case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s “signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws,” Carpenito said.
PROJECT GUARDIAN: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian
Carpenito credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Newark Field Division’s Trenton Field Office with the investigation leading to the guilty plea via videoconference in U.S. District Court in Trenton.
He also thanked the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Eatontown police and New Jersey State for their assistance.
U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp scheduled a Feb. 22 sentencing for Alexander’s guilty plea to one count being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Handling the case for the government is Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Matthews of Carpenito’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
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