Newark Man, Alleged Bloods Gang Member Found With Machine Gun: Police

NEWARK, NJ — A Newark man and alleged member of the Bloods street gang was arraigned earlier this month on multiple weapons and aggravated assault charges following his arrest by a federal and county law enforcement task force.

According to the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, a task force comprised of officers from the United States Marshals Service and Essex County sheriff’s detectives executed an arrest warrant for Shawn King, 20, of Newark, at 79 West Rich Street in Irvington on Dec. 16.

King surrendered to the officers without incident, police said.

Prior to King’s arrest, officers responded to King’s residence where they discovered and seized a .308 Heckler & Koch machine gun with an optic scope and a loaded and sawed-off Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun, police said.

Authorities said that the machine gun was discovered on the floor under King’s bed and the shotgun was secreted between the mattress and box springs. A large cache of ammunition, including illegal hollow point bullets, was also recovered from King’s bedroom.

The machine gun was reported stolen out of Durham, North Carolina on July 7, 2011, police stated.

King was wanted for aggravated assault by Newark police for allegedly firing a handgun at a male victim near a gas station on Sanford Avenue on Oct. 8, police stated.

In addition to the original aggravated assault charge, King was additionally charged with possession of a shotgun, possession of a prohibited weapon (sawed-off shotgun), possession of a machine gun, possession of hollow point bullets and receiving stolen property (machine gun).

King was ordered held at the county jail in lieu of $150,000 cash bond only.

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