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Faces 15 to 20 years in prison for trafficking cocaine from Texas to New Jersey

Eugene W. Braswell of Newark, a suspended senior state correction officer, has pleaded guilty to trafficking 22 kilograms of cocaine from Texas to New Jersey.

Braswell, 31, who worked at Northern State Prison in Newark, pleaded guilty late Tuesday to first-degree cocaine trafficking and second-degree official misconduct before state Superior Court Judge John J. Coyle Jr. in Belvidere, state Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor said Wednesday.

The state will recommend that Braswell be sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison, including 10 to 12 ½ years of parole ineligibility. He faces five years without possibility of parole on the official misconduct charge and a consecutive sentence of 10 to 15 years, including five to 7 ½ years of parole ineligibility, on the drug charge. He must forfeit his job as a senior correction officer and his state pension. Sentencing is scheduled for May 6.

Braswell and five other men were charged in an Oct. 15, 2009 indictment obtained as a result of an investigation by the State Police and the state Division of Criminal Justice.

“This senior correction officer was living a corrupt double life, guarding prisoners for the state while moonlighting as a major drug trafficker,” state Attorney General Paula T. Dow. “Through this plea, we have ensured that he will be spending all of his time in prison for the foreseeable future.”

“Braswell’s involvement in a fatal shooting in Newark raised a red flag for detectives of the State Police and Division of Criminal Justice, who subsequently uncovered his narcotics network,” Taylor said. “All six defendants in this case now face lengthy prison sentences.”

On Jan. 21, Delrese Hardy, 37, of East Orange, pleaded guilty to a first-degree drug trafficking charge before Judge Coyle. He faces a sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison, including seven to 10 years of parole ineligibility.

In pleading guilty, Braswell admitted that he and Hardy arranged to have two other men transport 22 kilograms of cocaine to New Jersey from Houston. Those men, Walter S. Braden, 33, of East Orange, and Shuerod Walton, 39, of East Orange, pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy charges and face up to seven years in prison.

Two additional members of the drug ring, Joseph L. Jones, 39, of Newark, and Antwan K. Jones, 39, of Woodbridge, pleaded guilty on Jan. 21 to second-degree conspiracy to distribute cocaine. They each face a sentence of seven to eight years in prison, including three to four years of parole ineligibility.

The six men were arrested in July 2008. The investigation revealed that Braswell and Hardy supervised the other men in the purchase and inter-state transportation of large quantities of cocaine from sources in Texas and elsewhere outside New Jersey. The cocaine was sold and distributed in northern New Jersey. Braswell was suspended without pay from his job with the Department of Corrections after his arrest.

The investigation into drug trafficking began after Braswell was involved in a shooting incident in August 2007 outside his Newark home in which he shot and killed Waliford Williams, 34. According to an investigation by the Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team, Williams shot at Braswell with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, striking Braswell in the left ankle. Braswell returned fire with his own .40-caliber handgun, striking Williams twice, including once in the neck. Williams died at the scene.

The drug investigation led to the arrest of Walton and Braden on July 12, 2008 following a motor vehicle stop in Pohatcong, Warren County. Detectives had a warrant to search the 2000 Dodge Ram Van in which the men were traveling. They seized approximately 22 kilograms of cocaine which were wrapped in heat-sealed plastic bags and hidden in the roof panels of the vehicle. The men were returning from Houston with the drugs.

Members of the State Police and Division of Criminal Justice arrested the other four men on July 24, 2008. Search warrants were executed at Braswell’s home in Newark and Hardy’s home in East Orange.

A 2002 Cadillac Escalade and 2003 Chevrolet Van owned by Braswell were also seized. Approximately 1 ½ kilograms of cocaine, $13,878 in cash and drug packaging materials were recovered in Hardy’s home. Cash totaling $17,020 and equipment and materials for drug packaging were found in Braswell’s home. A Smith & Wesson .357 revolver was found in a hidden compartment in the Escalade.

Supervising Deputy Attorney General Mark Eliades, chief of the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau, and Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Manis of the Corruption Bureau handled the prosecution.

The investigation was conducted by Det. Sgt. Geoffrey Forker and members of the State Police Official Corruption Unit, working jointly with members of the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau, North Squad.

-TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM