SACRAMENTO — 5 individuals illegally trafficked greater than 500 weapons from Georgia to California, the place they might promote them on the black market, for greater than $160,000 over practically two years, federal prosecutors mentioned Thursday.
The federal investigation started after authorities found that a gun utilized in a Sacramento, California, taking pictures was traced to Georgia, the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace in Sacramento mentioned in a information launch.
A federal grand jury indicted the group Thursday after their arrests on March 11. All 5 are charged with conspiracy to unlawfully deal in firearms and illegal dealing in firearms.
The defendants are: Jerrell Lawson, 31, of Sacramento, California; Aisha Hoggatt, 29, of Sacramento; Malek Williams, 28, of Atlanta; Terrence Phillips, 39, of Union Metropolis, California; and James Gordley, 32, of Modesto, California. It was not instantly clear whether or not they had attorneys who might converse on their behalf.
Lawson, Hoggatt, Williams and Phillips are additionally charged with transferring a firearm to an out-of-state resident and illegal mailing of a firearm. Lawson faces a further cost of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The sale of the firearm within the Sacramento taking pictures led investigators to Lawson, officers mentioned. Between November 2019 and October 2021, Lawson allegedly would dealer firearms purchases in Georgia on-line and Williams — who had a license to hold a hid weapon — would choose up the weapons and mail them to California.
A number of the weapons went to people who find themselves barred from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions, authorities mentioned.
Hoggatt allegedly labored with Lawson to coordinate the front-end of the scheme, whereas Phillips and Gordley allegedly distributed the weapons in California.