Prison for NJ man, whose phone number was on Jersey City shooter

A Monmouth County man whose phone number was found in the pocket of one of the assailants who killed a police officer and, shortly after, three people in a Jewish grocery store in December 2019 was sentenced to 18 months in prison Tuesday on an unrelated weapons offense.

The number found on shooter David Anderson brought intense scrutiny to 36-year-old pawn shop operator Ahmed A-Hady, but authorities never alleged that he had had any contact with Anderson or knew him.

An attorney representing A-Hady at the time of his arrest said Anderson could have gotten A-Hady's cellphone number online, where it was posted along with his pawn shop's address.

A-Hady, a father of three, pleaded guilty last fall to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In 2012, he had pleaded guilty to a drug charge he said was a product of his addiction to opioids after a motorcycle accident.

The FBI said a search of A-Hady's residence and a pawn shop in Keyport yielded weapons — including three AR-15-style assault rifles, three handguns and one shotgun — as well as more than 400 rounds of ammunition.

A message was left Tuesday with A-Hady's attorney.

Anderson and Francine Graham, who authorities said acted out of a hatred for Jews and law enforcement, were killed after a lengthy shootout with police from inside the market.