NEWARK, N.J. - An Essex County, New Jersey, man made his initial appearance today after his arrest in North Carolina on drug charges, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Lester Hicks, a/k/a “Mayhem," 29, of Newark, is charged by complaint with one count of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute heroin. He made his initial court appearance today by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward S. Kiel.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On March 8, 2020, law enforcement officers with the Essex County Sheriff's Office were patrolling around Clinton and Avon avenues in Newark when they observed a vehicle run a red light. The officers stopped the vehicle, in which Hicks was a passenger. They determined there was an active warrant for Hicks’ arrest. A search incident to his arrest recovered 78 glassine envelopes of heroin and $121 in cash. Twenty-eight of the envelopes were stamped “Terminator" in red ink, and 50 of the envelopes were stamped “G" in red ink.
Hicks was charged, processed, and released with a summons to return to court. That same day, he was allegedly involved in a shooting near Martin Luther King Boulevard in Newark. The shooting was recorded on video and Hicks was identified as one of the shooters. After agreeing to self-surrender, he traveled instead to North Carolina, where he was arrested by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Hicks had a sawed-off shotgun in his possession when arrested.
The drug trafficking offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $1 million fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II, and special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the Essex County Sheriff’s Office and the Newark Police Department for their assistance with the investigation.
This investigation is part of the Violent Crime Initiative (VCI) in Newark. The Newark VCI was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the City of Newark’s Department of Public Safety for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around the Newark. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI includes the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the DEA, the ATF, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole Board, Union County Jail, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, New Jersey Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, and the Irvington Police Department.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary E. Toscano, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
