A New Jersey man whose number was found in the back pocket of one of the perpetrators of last week’s fatal attack on a Jewish market has been arrested for illegally possessing a weapon, federal authorities said.
By: David Ben Hooren
A pawn shop owner in Keyport, NJ has been arrested on weapons-related charges after his phone number was found on one of the suspects in the Jersey City shooting, NBC New York has reported.
Yeshiva World News reported that officials are now looking into whether any of the guns used in the shooting came from that Keyport pawn shop, which was full of firearms, including three AR-15-style assault rifles.
Ahmed A-Hady, 35, of Keyport, New Jersey, is charged in a criminal complaint with one count of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm, as was reported by YWN. He was arrested by FBI agents early Saturday morning and is expected to appear on Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark federal court.
According to the complaint, filed today:
On Dec. 10, 2019, there was a mass shooting in Jersey City in which two individuals, a male (Individual 1) and a female (Individual 2), killed three civilians after earlier killing a law enforcement officer. After the shooting, law enforcement recovered from Individual 1’s right rear pants pocket a handwritten note that contained a telephone number ending in 4115, and a Keyport, New Jersey, address. Law enforcement also recovered several weapons carried by Individuals 1 and 2, including an AR-15 rifle.
FBI agents determined that the phone number ending in 4115 contained on the note belonged to A-Hady. Law enforcement also determined that the Keyport address listed on the note was a storefront for a pawn shop.
Law enforcement obtained records of A-Hady’s history of firearm purchases. Those records indicated that around May 23, 2007, A-Hady purchased a Smith and Wesson .45 caliber handgun bearing serial number NHN5284 (the “.45 caliber”). Records also indicate that on or about June 2, 2007, A-Hady purchased a Smith and Wesson .44 caliber handgun bearing serial number CEV4085 (the “.44 caliber”).
Subsequent to purchasing the firearms, A-Hady was convicted on April 2, 2012, in Monmouth County Superior Court, of attempting to obtain a controlled dangerous substance or analog by fraud, a crime punishable by more than one year in prison. As a result of that conviction, A-Hady is no longer permitted to possess a firearm.
On the evening of Dec. 13, 2019, law enforcement officers traveled to the pawnshop and interviewed A-Hady and two of his relatives. During the course of A-Hady’s interview, he admitted to owning both the .45 caliber and the .44 caliber, but falsely denied that they were on the premises.
After A-Hady was interviewed, one of his relatives (Relative-1) told law enforcement that there was a safe located inside Company A. Relative-1 further stated that the safe contained firearms, including A-Hady’s .44 and .45 caliber handguns. Relative-1 subsequently consented to a search of the safe located inside the pawnshop. Law enforcement recovered three firearms: (i) a PK 380; (ii) a Ruger 9mm bearing serial number 33389546; and (iii) the Smith and Wesson .44 caliber handgun bearing serial number CEV4085 referenced above.
Law enforcement then lawfully searched both the pawnshop and A-Hady’s private residence. During the search of the pawnshop, law enforcement recovered six rifles (including three AR-15-style assault rifles), three handguns, and one shotgun. In addition, during the searches of the pawnshop and A-Hady’s private residence, law enforcement recovered over 400 rounds of ammunition, including a large number of hollow point bullets.
The two New Jersey attackers, David Anderson and Francine Graham, were armed with multiple weapons including an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun, and a pipe bomb was also found in the stolen U-Haul van they drove to the market, according to an AP report. Two of the weapons used by Anderson and Graham were bought by Graham in Ohio last year, police have said. It’s not known where they got the three other guns.
No information was provided about any possible relationship between A-Hady and the attackers. A-Hady is expected to appear Monday before a federal magistrate; it’s unclear whether he has an attorney, and a message could not be left at a number listed in his name. (YWN & AP)
