NEW JERSEY — A 37-year-old man with ties to New Jersey and several other states and countries has been charged with threatening to kill and injure victims in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, authorities said.
Jarvis Shabazz, who most recently lived in Albania, was charged in a federal indictment with eight counts of interstate threats and two counts of cyberstalking, according to U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer.
Shabazz made his initial court appearance and was arraigned in Camden federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sharon A. King.
According to the indictment and statements made in court, Shabazz left a graphic voicemail for a victim on Oct. 10, 2022, threatening to kill the person and saying he would soon be “dismembering bodies and carving human f***ing flesh.”
About a week later, prosecutors allege Shabazz left another voicemail threatening the same victim and the victim’s children.
For the next 15 months, Shabazz allegedly continued sending death threats and harassing communications to that victim and another person through voicemails and text messages, prosecutors said.
Authorities allege Shabazz frequently changed his phone number to continue contacting the victims after they blocked his previous numbers. Prosecutors described the alleged threats as containing violent imagery, religious references, racial epithets and obscenities.
Shabazz has ties to New Jersey, Georgia, Malaysia, Morocco and Albania, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He most recently was living in Albania.
Each interstate threats and cyberstalking count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. The 10 counts carry a combined potential maximum sentence of 50 years in prison.
If Shabazz is convicted, a federal judge would determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
