Essex County Man Gets 12 Years In Prison For Possessing Firearm As Previously Convicted Felon

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Newark man was sentenced today to 144 months in prison for possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon for a second time and violating his supervised release, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

John Cottle, 47, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of violation of supervised release from his first felon in possession of a firearm conviction from 2010. U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In December 2016, investigators from the Newark and Hillside police departments responded to reports of a robbery in the area of South 13th Street, near Avon Avenue, in Newark. Officers encountered Cottle in the area and upon investigation found him to be in possession of a loaded .40 caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun.

Cottle has numerous prior felony convictions, including a 2010 felon in possession of a firearm conviction in the District of New Jersey – from which he was still on supervised release at the time of the 2016 arrest – and is prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law.

Judge Hillman also sentenced Cottle to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino; the Newark Police Division, under the direction of Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose; the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Michael A. Monahan; and the Hillside Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Vincent Ricciardi, for their assistance.

The government is represented by Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Zach Intrater.

Defense counsel: Thomas Young Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Camden