A Keyport resident has admitted to illegally possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced on Oct. 7.
The firearm, other weapons and ammunition were found at locations connected to a perpetrator of a mass shooting in Jersey City, according to a press release from Carpenito’s office.
Ahmed A-Hady, 36, of Keyport, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Court Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an information charging him with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to the press release.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, on Dec. 10, 2019, there was a mass shooting in Jersey City during which two individuals, David Nathaniel Anderson and Francine Graham, killed three civilians after earlier killing a law enforcement officer.
Anderson and Graham were killed by police during the incident.
After the shooting, law enforcement personnel recovered from Anderson’s right rear pants pocket a handwritten note that contained a telephone number ending in 4115 and a Keyport address.
Law enforcement personnel also recovered several weapons carried by Anderson and Graham, including an AR-15 rifle.
FBI agents determined the phone number ending in 4115 belonged to A-Hady. Law enforcement personnel also determined the Keyport address listed on the note was a storefront for a pawn shop.
On the evening of Dec. 13, 2019, law enforcement officers traveled to the pawn shop and interviewed A-Hady and two of his relatives.
Law enforcement officers lawfully searched the pawn shop and A-Hady’s private residence. During the search of the pawn shop, law enforcement personnel recovered multiple rifles, handguns and one shotgun.
In addition, during the searches of the pawn shop and A-Hady’s private residence, law enforcement personnel recovered more than 400 rounds of ammunition, including a large number of hollow point bullets.
One of the weapons recovered from the pawn shop was a Sig Sauer .22 caliber rifle capable of accepting a large capacity magazine.
Records showed A-Hady purchased the rifle in Florida on Oct. 23, 2012, a time when he, as a convicted felon, was prohibited from possessing firearms.
The purchase of the rifle came approximately five months after A-Hady was convicted in New Jersey Superior Court of a crime that was punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than one year.
According to the press release, as part of his guilty plea on Oct. 7, A-Hady also agreed to forfeit his interest, if any, in the firearms that were recovered during the search of the Keyport pawn shop.
The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 9, according to the press release.