Essex County Cops Find ‘Arsenal’ Of Guns In Alleged Bloods Gang Member’s Home

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Essex County sheriff’s officers seized what they called an “arsenal” of weapons during a bust at an alleged Bloods street gang member’s Irvington apartment on Wednesday evening, authorities say.

According to the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, police recovered a pair of loaded Smith & Wesson handguns, a sawed-off, 12-gauge, Benelli Nova pump-action shotgun, a 12-gauge, Kel-Tech shotgun and a .22 caliber Ruger rifle during their search of 24-year-old Joseph Brown’s apartment on the 100 block of Lenox Avenue, which he shared with his 25-year-old girlfriend, Yasmine White, also an alleged Bloods gang member.

All the recovered weapons were loaded; the Ruger was reported stolen out of Manchester Township, authorities said.

Police also recovered an illegal, high-capacity ammunition magazine, a bulletproof vest, illegal hollow point bullets, 46 heroin-filled envelopes and a “wide assortment of drug packaging and processing paraphernalia” while executing their search warrant, authorities said.

According to police, Brown has been lodged at the county jail since January on prior weapons and drug charges.

Authorities charged Brown with five counts of the possession of a weapon while committing a narcotics crime and one count each of possession of a sawed-off shotgun, possession of hollow point bullets, possession of a high capacity ammunition magazine, receiving stolen property, possession of CDS, possession of CDS with intent to distribute, possession of narcotics paraphernalia and conspiracy to violate New Jersey’s narcotics laws.

Authorities filed similar charges against White, whose current whereabouts are unknown, police stated Thursday.

Patch file photo