newjerseynewsroom.com

Accused leader, former corrections officer Eugene Braswell, awaiting sentencing

Five New Jersey men were sentenced to state prison on Wednesday as members of a narcotics ring that smuggled 22 kilograms of cocaine from Texas to the state.

The ring was led by a former senior state correction officer Eugene W. Braswell, 32, of the Newark who has pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme. Braswell was an officer at Northern State Prison in Newark. He is awaiting sentencing.

The men were charged in an Oct. 15, 2009 indictment that stemmed from an investigation by the State Police and the state Division of Criminal Justice.

The five other men were sentenced on Wednesday by state Superior Court Judge John J. Coyle Jr. in Belvidere. They are:

• Delrese Hardy, 37, of East Orange, was sentenced to 15 years, including seven years of parole ineligibility.
• Joseph L. Jones, 40, of Newark, was sentenced to seven years, including three years of parole ineligibility.
• Antwan K. Jones, 39, of Woodbridge, was sentenced to seven years, including three years of parole ineligibility.
• Walter S. Braden, 33, of East Orange, was sentenced to seven years, including one year of parole ineligibility.
• Shuerod Walton, 39, of East Orange, was sentenced to seven years, including one year of parole ineligibility.

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and Braswell’s involvement in a fatal gun battle in 2007 led investigators to suspect – and quickly uncover – his involvement in major drug trafficking,” state Attorney General Paula T. Dow said. “The evidence also led detectives to the five men sentenced today.”

“The strong evidence gathered by the New Jersey State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice led one defendant after another to plead guilty in this major narcotics prosecution,” state Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor said. “The sentences imposed today are a testament to the outstanding work of the detectives and attorneys assigned to this case.”

In pleading guilty, Braswell admitted that he and Hardy arranged to have Braden and Walton transport 22 kilograms of cocaine to New Jersey from Houston. Hardy pleaded guilty on Jan. 21 to first-degree cocaine trafficking. Braswell pleaded guilty on March 16 to first-degree cocaine trafficking and second degree official misconduct.

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 forfeited his job as a correction officer and his state pension as a result of the plea.

Braden, Walton, Joseph Jones and Antwan Jones pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy charges.

The six defendants 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 in August 2007 outside his Newark home in which he 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 in 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.