BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A military-style assault rifle, two semi-automatic handguns, a cache of narcotics and cash were seized during two related investigations into narcotics trafficking in Essex and Union counties by a law enforcement task force, comprised of detectives from the Essex County Sheriff’s Office and the Bloomfield and Elizabeth police departments, according to a Sept. 26 press release from the sheriff’s office.
On Sept. 25, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the residence of Cedric “Smack” Lewis, 30, at 21 Lackawanna Plaza in Bloomfield.
“As a result of our search, a 9mm Glock semi-automatic pistol, reported stolen out of Sanford, N.C., a .40-caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun, 50 heroin-filled envelopes stamped ‘STEEL CITY’ in red ink, 15.6 grams of crack cocaine, nine Xanax tables, a variety of drug packaging and processing paraphernalia, and $800 in cash were confiscated,” Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said.
Fontoura added that the suspect first came to the attention of Elizabeth police on the evening of Sept. 20 when Lewis was observed as a passenger in a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
“Elizabeth police stated that Lewis was in possession of a rifle and the Jeep was pursuing another vehicle,” Fontoura said. “The Jeep was followed into Newark and Elizabeth police lost track of the car on Frelinghuysen Avenue. The Jeep was later found abandoned on Van Vechten Street in Newark.”
A search warrant issued for the Jeep yielded an AR-15 assault rifle, according to the press release.
Lewis was charged with possession of a weapon while committing a narcotics crime, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, possession of a large-capacity ammunition magazine and receiving stolen property. He was also charged with three counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance, two counts of possession of drugs with intent to distribute, possession of drugs with intent to distribute within 500 feet of Watsessing Park and possession of narcotics paraphernalia.
The suspect is still at large and should be considered dangerous, according to law enforcement.
These are merely accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proved guilty in a court of law.
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