TRENTON – A city man who allegedly sold seven guns to an undercover State Police officer over the course of several meetings pleaded guilty Monday to a gun charge that could force him to spend five years in state prison, the Office of the Attorney General announced.

Edward Thorpe, 22, of Trenton, was prosecuted under the Targeted Anti-Gun (TAG) initiative, which aims to deliver tough mandatory minimum sentences without the possibility of parole to certain offenders facing gun charges in Mercer County, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said in a news release.

The state is recommending Thorpe be sentenced to five years in state prison, three without parole, when he appears before Superior Court Judge Thomas M. Brown on Sept. 9, Hoffman said.

“The cheap plea deals are absolutely over for gang members, drug dealers and repeat offenders who are caught carrying guns in Trenton,” Hoffman said. “Under TAG, they must serve substantial prison sentences without the possibility of parole.”

Thorpe and Dominic Cole, 23, of Trenton, who has charges pending, allegedly conspired to sell seven guns at various locations in Trenton to an undercover officer with the State Police Weapons Trafficking Central Unity. The pair allegedly sold a revolver and a semi-automatic rifle in February 2013, then three revolvers, a rifle with a large-capacity magazine and a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun over four subsequent meetings.

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