Darryl Spears, 25, of Trenton, was found guilty yesterday by a Mercer County jury following a four-day trial before Superior Court Judge Andrew J. Smithson. Spears was convicted of all counts against him in a June 19, 2013 indictment charging him with unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon – both second-degree offenses – as well as fourth-degree unlawful disposition of a firearm. The state presented testimony and evidence during the trial that on Aug. 29, 2012, during the course of an undercover investigation by the New Jersey State Police, Spears illegally sold a 9mm semi-automatic pistol for $500 on Ward Street in Trenton.

The second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison, including a mandatory period of parole ineligibility of five years on the charge of possession of a weapon as a convicted felon. Spears has a prior conviction for aggravated assault and is eligible for an extended-term sentence, which the state will be seeking.

Deputy Attorney General Mary P. Murphy tried the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2015.

Detective Sgt. Jeffrey Gauthier was the lead detective for the New Jersey State Police Weapons Trafficking South Unit, under the supervision of Lt. Eric Barlow. Deputy Attorney General Cassandra Serentino presented the case to the state grand jury, and Deputy Attorney General Erik Daab, who is Deputy Chief of the Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau, assisted in the prosecution.

Spears was among more than 65 defendants indicted in 2013 by the Division of Criminal Justice in connection with nearly 100 illegal guns. Those indictments stemmed from an ongoing statewide initiative launched by the Attorney General’s Office in 2012, in which the Division of Criminal Justice and the State Police are aggressively targeting gun violence through strategic investigations focused on seizing existing weapons in violent areas, disrupting weapons trafficking into those areas, and aggressively prosecuting criminals involved in the illegal sale and possession of guns.

In addition to that statewide initiative, the Attorney General’s Office has targeted gun violence in Trenton through an innovative two-pronged strategy. On Aug. 15, 2013, Acting Attorney General Hoffman announced the implementation in Trenton and Mercer County of TIDE-TAG, a strategy led by the State Police, Trenton Police and Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office that has deployed more state troopers and other law enforcement personnel under TIDE to suppress shootings in the most violent neighborhoods of Trenton, while focusing efforts on arresting and aggressively prosecuting gang members, repeat offenders and drug dealers who carry guns in public. Under TAG, which applies countywide, the Attorney General has mandated that prosecutors will make no plea offer that is less than a minimum 3 ½ years without parole to a “tagged” offender charged with unlawful possession of a gun. The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office has charged 246 defendants under the TAG initiative.

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