Willingboro Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Armed Robberies in Passaic County

Kareem Powell and accomplices used firearms and threats during two coordinated robberies in August 2022; additional co-defendants await sentencing.

A Burlington County man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in two armed robberies carried out in Passaic County in August 2022, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Kareem Powell, 32, of Willingboro, New Jersey, was sentenced on March 20, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court. Powell had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

According to court documents and statements made during the proceedings, Powell and his accomplices, Carlos Diaz and Edward Porter, committed two gunpoint robberies on the night of August 22, 2022. The first incident involved the robbery of a bodega in Passaic, where the men threatened a victim at gunpoint and stole several thousand dollars. Later the same evening, the group targeted a second business in Paterson, again stealing thousands of dollars while threatening customers and staff.

During both incidents, the robbers wore face masks and forced customers to lie on the ground at gunpoint. Diaz and Porter have also pleaded guilty to their involvement in these robberies, as well as in two additional armed robberies committed the following day in Passaic County. Their sentencing hearings are scheduled for later in 2025.

In addition to the 120-month prison sentence, Judge Cecchi imposed a three-year term of supervised release on Powell and ordered him to pay restitution to the victims.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Newark Field Division, with assistance from the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, the Paterson Police Department, and the Passaic Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett Schuman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.