An Essex County man was jailed 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to being associated with a car trafficking ring in North Jersey, officials stated.
Donell Carroll, 29, of East Orange, was sentenced to state prison for being associated with a significant global car trafficking ring that stole luxury cars in New Jersey and New York and delivered them to West Africa, state Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino stated.
On Friday, Carroll was sentenced to ten years in state jail, consisting of 8 1/2 years of parole ineligibility. He pleaded guilty on December 14 and charged for first-degree racketeering. With that plea, he confessed to being a member of the cars trafficking ring, which carjacked and stole cars, Porrino informed.
The original indictment was part of in 2016’s “Operation 17 Corridor,” which was a headed by the Division of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey State Police. A number of other companies also assisted, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Policy, ICE Homeland Security Investigations and numerous local agencies, Porrino added.
State reveals arrests made in carjacking ring, November 5, 2015.
Most of the alleged offenders were detained on October 27, 2015, when the partnering firms broke up the theft ring. Ninety stolen automobiles worth over $4 million were recovered in the investigation, Porrino stated.
There were 4 other offenders in this case sentenced recently. Rashawn Gartrell, 37, of Irvington, pleaded guilty to first-degree money laundering and jailed 12 years, including five years of parole ineligibility; Julian Atta-Poku, 34, of Queens Village, New York, pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy and was jailed 7 years; Damion Mikell, 34, of East Orange, pleaded guilty to second-degree racketeering and was jailed 6 years, consisting of two years of parole ineligibility; Alterique Jones, 41, of Maplewood, pleaded guilty to second-degree racketeering and was jailed 6 years, with 2 years of parole ineligibility, Porrino stated.
Those associated were able to dismantle the criminal ring based on demand for particular cars.
The kinds of vehicles often sought included Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Maserati, Porsche, Jaguar and Bentley. Cars were stolen through carjackings and stolen from locations where the thieves might use their electronic keys. The keys are important to the resale value of the automobiles, Porrino informed.
