high-ranking member of the Burlington County-based street gang was sentenced Tuesday to 32 months imprisonment for smuggling guns into New Jersey.Terrek K. Parker, 23, of Babcock Lane was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and serve three years of federal supervision after he completes his prison term. He was also to have no contact with any members of the street gang MOE, also known as Muslims Over Everything.The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman this morning. Parker plead guilty in April to charges of conspiracy and five counts of aiding and abetting the making of false statements in the acquisition of firearms.
During his guilty plea, Parker admitted that he conspired with Tonya D. Williams of Georgia, in a scheme where Williams purchased a total of eight firearms from pawn shops and sporting goods stores in Augusta, Ga., and then gave them to Parker, who transported them to New Jersey.The guns included a Glock .45 caliber pistol, a Glock .40 caliber pistol, a Sig Arms .40 caliber pistol, a Smith and Sesson .500 caliber revolver and a Springfield Armory .357 pistol.Parker admitted that Williams, who was the girlfriend of his father at the time, completed an ATF form, attesting that the firearms she was purchasing were for her.Williams was sentenced to 24 months in prison earlier this summer in connection with the scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Richardson specified that two of the guns purchased in Georgia were recovered from Parker’s residence in Willingboro during a raid on April 7, 2007.A fourth gun was recovered from the Willingboro residence of Terrell Matthews, 19, after officers responded to a report of shots fired there on Oct. 11, 2007.Four additional guns were found at the home of Parker’s grandmother. Two of those guns were traced to the purchases in Georgia. The other two firearms have not been traced, and three guns bought in Georgia are still missing, authorities said. ”There are still three guns missing and two that we don’t know where they came from,”Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Richardson said during Tuesday’s court hearing.Parker’s MOE gang ties were also discussed in court with Richardson arguing that they should be included in background to be sent to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons so that Parker is isolated from rival gang members.Law enforcement officials have said that the MOE gang is involved in a violent street war with members of a Trenton set of Bloods gang members.
Parker’s attorney, Robin Lord, argued that her client has no known gang ties.
“Mr. Parker maintains he had nothing to do with (MOE),” Lord said. “They’re not Bloods or Crips. Frankly, I’ve never heard of them.”Lord also argued that Parker’s prior criminal record should bear little weight because they occurred long ago and were made up predominantly of juvenile offenses. She also pointed out that Parker had succeeded in graduating from high school and a two-year vocational institute and that he had also obtained a commercial truck driver’s license despite both his background as coming from a broken home where his father deserted him and his mother was convicted of drug offenses.“I’m uniquely impressed how much this young man has accomplished despite his background,” Lord said.Parker also testified prior to sentencing, telling the judge he was “remorseful” and sorry for his crimes.
“I’m just here to ask you fro some leniency and to look at the whole picture,” Parker said. “I’ve had a rough life and I’ve overcome a lot of adversity. I ask you to be lenient.”Hillman agreed that Parker has demonstrated remarkable intelligence and work ethic, but he said a lengthy incarceration was needed “to protect the public and deliver a message to you.”He specified that Parker’s alleged gang connections did not factor into the sentence, but he sided with government’s request that it be included as part of background information sent to the federal Bureau of Prisons.During the hearing, Richardson and Hillman also specified that Parker was known to be an associate of Terik Mackins, 29, of Trenton, who was charged earlier this summer with the Sept. 22, 2008 murder of 28-year-old Willingboro resident Deion Madison as well as three armed bank robberies in South Jersey last year.
Madison was shot several times at close range while sitting inside a car parked outside Fisher’s Seafood market on Charleston Road. Burlington County Prosecutors have said the motive for the murder retaliation after Madison, whom authorities identified as a member of a Willingboro-based Bloods gang, had threatened an unidentified associate of Mackins.Parker has also previously been identified by law enforcement officials as an associate of Eric Williams, 25, of Willingboro. Williams, who has also been identified as a leader of MOE, is also in federal custody awaiting sentencing for distribution and possession of crack cocaine.
Parker was also indicted this past July with unlawful possession of a handgun in Burlington County, according to court records. He is scheduled to appear before Superior Court Judge John Almeida on Sept. 29 for a status hearing.Members of Parker’s family, including his fiancé and 2-month-old child, attended the hearing but declined to comment on the judge’s sentence.
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