Malik Holloway, 28, was brought before a federal magistrate judge via teleconference Friday.
City police had seen him take the gun from another person the night of July 13, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said.
A short time later, Holloway tipped away from a group of people with the weapon in his waistband as police approached on Neptune Avenue, he said.
An officer stopped Holloway, who smelled of marijuana, patted him down and found a .9mm Glock Model 17 with a large-capacity magazine containing 18 rounds of ammo, Carpenito said.
Holloway is charged with possession of a gun and ammunition by a convicted felon.
Carpenito credited Jersey City police, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and special agents and task force officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Newark Field Division.
The three agencies participate in a Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI) created by Carpenito’s office for what he said is “the sole purpose of combating violent crime in and around Jersey City.”
Together, federal, state, county, and local agencies collaborate “to strategize and prioritize the prosecution of violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community,” the U.S. attorney said.
Participants also include Carpenito’s office, the FBI, the DEA, U.S. Marshals, the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, the Hudson County Jail and the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Agnew of Carpenito’s Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark is handling the case.
Click here to follow Daily Voice North Hunterdon and receive free news updates.