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Raphael Powell, 37, was sentenced on Friday, Mar. 1 to 25 years in state prison, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced in a news release. A jury found Powell guilty of seven charges on Wednesday, Jan. 10.
Toms River police responded to a man who was assaulted while entering a home on Rory Road at around 11 p.m. on Saturday, July 2, 2022. The victim told officers that another man approached him and asked what he was doing in the area.
Investigators said Powell punched the victim in the face, pointed a gun at him, and threatened to kill him. The victim was able to escape after another man arrived at the scene.
Powell was arrested outside his home a few hours later on Sunday morning, July 3, 2022. Officers found him with a stolen handgun, 17 rounds of hollow nose bullets, and 30 wax folds of fentanyl.
Powell was convicted of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, being a certain person not to possess a firearm, unlawful possession of a handgun having previously been convicted of a No Early Release Act (NERA) offense, terroristic threats, possession of hollow nose bullets, possession of a large capacity magazine, and possession of fentanyl.
Prosecutors said Powell will have to serve at least 13-and-a-half years of his sentence before he can be eligible for parole.
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