Newark Man Sentenced to 58 Months for Fentanyl, Cocaine, and Firearms Offenses

Carlos Gonzalez, a previously convicted felon, sentenced for drug trafficking and weapons possession.

Carlos Ovidio Gonzalez, 37, of Newark, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 58 months in federal prison for narcotics and firearms offenses, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Gonzalez, who had been convicted in a narcotics conspiracy involving significant quantities of cocaine and fentanyl, pleaded guilty earlier this year before U.S. District Judge Clair C. Cecchi, who imposed the sentence in Newark federal court.

On December 19, 2022, Gonzalez and an associate were arrested after attempting to distribute approximately one kilogram of cocaine and 100 grams of fentanyl at a predetermined location in Kearny. A subsequent search of Gonzalez’s home and an apartment yielded additional contraband, including 482 grams of cocaine, two loaded firearms, an unloaded firearm, ammunition, and materials used for drug packaging.

Gonzalez, a convicted felon with prior offenses including first-degree drug distribution and weapons possession during a controlled substance offense, previously served a 30-year sentence stemming from a 2009 conviction in New Jersey Superior Court, Morris County.

In addition to his prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Gonzalez to three years of supervised release. The case was investigated by FBI special agents, with support from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Newark Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli Jacobs of the General Crimes Unit in Newark represented the government in the case.