NEWARK, NJ — A Newark man was sentenced on Oct. 7 to 10 years in prison for possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Richard D. Williams, 41, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an indictment charging him with one count of possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, on Feb. 18, 2017, law enforcement officers spotted a white Infiniti car that matched the make, model, color and year of a car that had previously been reported stolen. When police ran the license plate on the vehicle, they determined it belonged to a different car, suggesting that the license plate on the Infiniti had been switched. Police officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but it took off at a high rate of speed. The police pursued the car in a high-speed chase through Newark and into East Orange. Several other police cars and a Newark police helicopter joined the pursuit.
The police chased the car for 10 minutes until it was traveling east on South Orange Avenue near Bergen Street in East Orange. The car crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head on with an unmarked Newark police vehicle. The crash caused both the Infiniti and Newark police vehicle to catch fire. The three Newark police officers inside the police vehicle all suffered injuries, but exited their vehicle safely.
Williams got out of the Infiniti and tried to flee, but was quickly caught and detained by a Newark police officer until a N.J. State Police trooper joined him. Williams was found to have a black .38-caliber revolver, loaded with four bullets, in his waistband. Williams had at least one prior felony conviction in federal court.
In addition to the prison term, Vazquez sentenced William to three years of supervised release.
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