Freehold gunrunner and drug dealer nabbed in FBI sting sentenced to 5 years in prison
TRENTON - A Freehold man was sentenced to five years in federal prison this week after he pleaded guilty to cocaine distribution and the illegal sale of firearms in Monmouth and Ocean counties, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Enrique Quijada, 25, was a member of a gun trafficking conspiracy that stretched from Florida to New Jersey, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
The weapons Quijada conspired to sell included multiple handguns and a semi-automatic rifle, the statement said.
He was apprehended after he attempted to sell the firearms — as well as cocaine — to an undercover FBI operative, according to the federal government.
At the time of his arrest, Quijada was in the United States unlawfully. In addition to admitting to one count conspiracy to engage in firearms trafficking and one count of cocaine distribution, he also pleaded guilty to one count of firearm possession by an alien unlawfully present in the U.S., the statement said.
U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson imposed the sentence Thursday at the federal courthouse in Trenton.
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Background
From May 2020 through September 2020, Quijada and co-defendants Manuel Espinosa-Ozoria, Waldin Espinosa-Ozoria, Javier Rodriguez-Valpais and Jacquelyn DeJesus conspired to sell firearms to individuals working at the direction and under the supervision of the FBI, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Manuel Espinosa-Ozoria — the alleged leader of the conspiracy — acted as a “straw purchaser” of firearms in Florida, the statement said. A straw purchase is when someone purchases a firearm on behalf of another person who is not eligible to own a gun.
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office explained that Manuel Espinosa-Ozoria and DeJesus then transported the firearms across state lines and into Monmouth County, where members of the conspiracy — which included Quijada — sold the weapons locally.
Rodriguez-Valpais sold a .223 caliber semi-automatic rifle to Quijada, who in turn sold the rifle to an undercover FBI operative. Quijada also sold cocaine to the operative, the statement said.
Three members of the conspiracy — Javier Rodriguez-Valpais, Waldin Espinosa-Ozoria, and Jacquelyn DeJesus — previously have pleaded guilty for their roles in this criminal case. The charges against Manuel Espinosa-Ozoria are pending.
Multistate investigation
In addition to the prison term, Thompson sentenced Quijada to three years of court supervision after his release from prison.
The federal government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian D. Brater of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
Special agents from the FBI’s Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., led the investigation that has resulted in these convictions, Sellinger said.
He also credited the FBI’s Tampa Division; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark and Tampa field divisions; and the Freehold Police Department for their assistance in the case.
Erik Larsen: 732-682-9359 or elarsen@gannettnj.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Freehold NJ: Gunrunner, drug dealer nabbed by FBI sentenced
