An Essex County resident has been found guilty of federal firearm and drug offenses after a three-day trial in Newark. Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello announced that Mookadean Cheeseboro, 38, of Newark, was convicted by a federal jury on February 11, 2026. The charges include unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, as well as possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine.
Court documents and statements reveal that on December 20, 2021, New Jersey State Police executed a search warrant during which they observed Cheeseboro participating in drug trafficking. Officers discovered 74 doses of cocaine and fentanyl packaged for sale on Cheeseboro and recovered a key to a vehicle. Inside the vehicle, detectives found a .380 caliber handgun and thirty rounds of ammunition. In a statement following his arrest, Cheeseboro admitted to possessing both the drugs and the firearm for his protection.
The charge for being a felon in possession of a firearm carries up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances carries up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Cheeseboro has prior convictions; in 2015 he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to serve 70 months’ imprisonment for unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Senior Counsel Lamparello credited special agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), led by Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James, along with the New Jersey State Police under Acting Superintendent Lt. Col. Jeanne Hengemuhle, for their work leading to this conviction.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a national initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime through coordinated efforts involving the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys John M. Maloy from the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit and Kelly M. Lyons, Acting Chief of the Narcotics and International Trafficking Unit, represented the government in this case.
Cheeseboro was represented by defense counsel F.R. “Chip” Dunne III.
