A 37-year-old man appeared in Camden County's federal courthouse Tuesday, Aug. 18, facing 10 counts that could carry up to 50 years in prison after he allegedly spent 15 months leaving voicemails and texts threatening to kill and dismember victims in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Jarvis Shabazz, most recently living in Albania, faces eight counts of interstate threats and two counts of cyberstalking, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced. Shabazz was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sharon A. King.
The campaign began Oct. 10, 2022, when Shabazz allegedly left a voicemail threatening to kill a victim and stating he would soon be "dismembering bodies and carving human f---ing flesh," according to NJ.com's reporting on the federal indictment.
About a week later, he left a second voicemail for the same victim, threatening the victim's life and the lives of the victim's children.
Over the following 15 months, Shabazz allegedly continued sending death threats and harassing messages to the original victim and eventually a second person, using both voicemails and texts, according to the indictment. Federal officials described the messages as filled with violent imagery, racial slurs, religious references and obscenities.
Authorities say Shabazz frequently changed his phone number so he could keep contacting victims after they blocked him.
Investigation and charges
Shabazz also has ties to New Jersey, Georgia, Malaysia and Morocco, according to the U.S. Attorney's announcement as reported by Daily Voice. The FBI's Philadelphia Field Office and South Jersey Resident Agency Division investigated the case with assistance from the West Deptford Police Department.
Each of the 10 counts carries a maximum of five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. If convicted on all counts, Shabazz faces up to 50 years behind bars. A federal district court judge would determine any sentence after weighing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Shabazz has not entered a plea. No trial date has been set.
Anyone with information related to the case can contact the FBI's Philadelphia Field Office.
