Union County Man Admits Role in Armed Carjacking with an Assault Rifle

NEWARK, N.J. - A Union County, New Jersey, man on June 23, 2026 admitted his role in an armed carjacking involving an assault rifle, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.

Elijah Lott, 28, of Scotch Plains, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to three counts of an indictment charging him with one count of carjacking, one count of conspiracy to commit carjacking and one count of conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

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

On August 6, 2020, Lott and two accomplices committed a gunpoint carjacking with an assault rifle in Irvington, New Jersey. During the carjacking, the accomplices ordered the victims to get out of the car while pointing firearms at them. Then, one of Lott's accomplices got into the car and drove away.

The conspiracy to commit carjacking offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 5 years in prison. The carjacking and conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence offenses each carry maximum potential penalties of 20 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for October 21, 2026.

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents and members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark; members of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda and Chief of Police Sharonda Morris; and members of the Irvington Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Tracy Bowers, with the investigation leading to the charges and guilty plea.

The investigation was conducted as part of the Newark Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The Newark VCI was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, and the City of Newark's Department of Public Safety for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Newark. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) New Jersey Division, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, the Essex County Sheriff's Office, New Jersey State Parole, Union County Jail, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, New Jersey Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, and the Irvington Police Department.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin, Chief of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark, and Assistant United States Attorney Vincent D. Romano of the National Security Unit in Newark.

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Defense counsel: Christopher D. Adams, Esq.