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For Immediate Release:  
For Further Information:
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July 22, 2009  

David Wald
609-292-4791

Office of The Attorney General
- Anne Milgram, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
- Deborah L. Gramiccioni, Director

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State Grand Jury Indicts Twelve for Illegally Trafficking Weapons
Joint State Police/ATF Investigative Task Force & E-trace links crime guns to traffickers

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View indictment I Summary of indictments
Governor's release on Joint State Police/ATF Investigative Task Force

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Trenton, NJ – A state grand jury has returned indictments against 12 individuals charging them with the illegal possession, transfer and purchase of firearms later recovered by police in connection with crimes committed in New Jersey, Attorney General Anne Milgram announced today.

The indictments, brought by the Division of Criminal Justice, are a result of investigations conducted by a new joint task force of State Police detectives and special agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The task force, which also includes the participation of officers with the Trenton Police Department, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, is aimed at tracking and prosecuting illegal gun traffickers.

Deborah L. Gramiccioni, the director of the Division of Criminal Justice, said the guns were recovered in connection with crimes committed in Newark, Trenton, Asbury Park, Neptune Township, Atlantic City, Pleasantville, Margate, and Merchantville. The guns – mostly handguns, but including three assault weapons – were originally purchased in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Georgia and illegally transported to New Jersey.

Attorney General Milgram said, “New Jersey’s unprecedented partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to trace all guns recovered in connection with crimes in our state has become a force-multiplier in our ability to find and prosecute those responsible for filling our streets with illegal and deadly weapons. The State Police and county and local law enforcement agencies have a strong and experienced partner in tracking those responsible for illegally trafficking in weapons.”

Approximately 75 percent of the firearms recovered and tracked to the original points of purchase in the last year are from out of state, according to ATF.

The 12 people indicted in 11 separate indictments filed in Superior Court yesterday are charged with a variety of second, third and fourth degree offenses including conspiracy, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of an assault weapon, possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, unlawful disposition of a firearm, unlawful transportation of a weapon, and unlawful transport of an assault weapon. Three of those charged are also convicted felons and face additional penalties for illegally possessing a weapon.

The three assault weapons involved in the trafficking cases were a Masterpiece Arms .45 caliber Mac-10, a Leinad MP-11, and a STG Romanian AK-47. Other weapons recovered and traced were a Keltec .380 semi-automatic handgun, a North American Arms .22 caliber pistol, a Tanfoglio 9mm pistol, a Jennings .22 caliber pistol, a Taurus .38 caliber revolver, a Jiminez Arms 9mm handgun, two Iberia Arms .40 caliber handguns, a Hi-Point .380 caliber handgun, a Hi-Point 9mm semi-automatic pistol, a .Hi-Point .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a Lorcin .380 semi-automatic pistol, a Taurus PT-111 handgun, a Glock 17, a Keltec PF9, a .45 caliber FEG, a Hi-Point 9mm pistol, and a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun.

Those indicted face maximum penalties of 10 years in state prison and a $150,000 fine for second degree crimes; 5 years and $15,000 for third degree crimes; and 18 months and $10,000 for fourth degree crimes. The indictments are only accusations and those charged are presumed innocent until convicted.

Arrest warrants were issued for nine of the 12 individuals indicted. The remaining three were served with summonses to appear in court.

A summary of the indictments follows:

Richard L. Smith, 34, of Pleasantville, and Kerri Anne Dougherty, 28, of Camden., were each indicted on 12 counts, including conspiracy, unlawful possession and disposition of two assault firearms (a Masterpiece Arms .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol and a Leinad 9mm semi-automatic pistol), and unlawful possession and disposition of three other handguns (a Hi-Point 9mm semi-automatic pistol, a Hi-Point .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a Lorcin .380 semi-automatic pistol).

The guns were purchased in Georgia and recovered in Atlantic and Camden counties. The indictment charges that Dougherty purchased the weapons at pawn shops in Macon, Georgia, at the direction of Smith, who was a convicted drug dealer and barred from purchasing or possessing weapons. The two are charged with transporting or selling the guns in Atlantic City and Merchantville. Arrests warrants were issued for both Smith and Dougherty; they are still at-large.

Burton Davis, 28, a sergeant in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia was indicted on eight counts, including four counts of unlawful disposition of a weapon (each fourth degree) and four counts of unlawful possession of a weapon (each third degree). He is charged with illegal possessing and selling four handguns in Asbury Park or Neptune. Davis was expected to be placed into military custody today.

Samuel Rock, 26, of Neptune, was indicted on a single count of purchasing a handgun without a firearms’ identification card. He is charged with purchasing a Hi-Point .380 caliber handgun from Davis.

Rodney Bolling, 37, of Trenton, was indicted on four counts, including conspiracy (second degree), possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime (second degree), and two counts of unlawful disposition of a Kel-Tec .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun and a North American Arms .22 magnum (fourth degree).

Terry Brooks, 39, of Trenton, was indicted on four counts, including conspiracy (second degree), unlawful possession of a firearm (second degree), unauthorized disposition of a firearm (fourth degree), and illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (second degree). Brooks was arrested and being held in the Mercer County jail.

Kenneth Portis, 40, of Trenton, was indicted on two counts, including unlawful possession of a .22 caliber North American Arms Derringer revolver (second degree) and unlawful disposition of the revolver (fourth degree). Portis is in custody in the Mercer County jail.

Silas C. Richardson, 37, of Trenton, was indicted on six counts, including possession of a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson during the commission of a crime (second degree), illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (second degree), possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute (third degree), two counts of distributing a controlled dangerous substance (marijuana) (third degree), and maintaining a video surveillance system at his house to protect a drug distribution operation (third degree). He was arrested and is in custody in the Mercer County jail.

Jose A. Maldonado, 33, of Trenton, was indicted on three counts, including unlawful disposition of a firearm (fourth degree), possession of a .45 caliber Hungarian FEG handgun during the commission of a crime (second degree), and possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute (marijuana) (fourth degree).

Mikeal Rafael Coles, 22, of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, was indicted on two counts, including unlawful possession of a weapon (second degree) and unlawful transportation and disposition of a weapon (fourth degree) in Absecon, Atlantic County. The weapon was a Taurus .38 caliber revolver. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

James Noonan, 39, of Wilmington, Delaware, was indicted on two counts, including one count of unlawful possession of a 9 mm Hi-Point Model C9 pistol (third degree) and one count of unlawful disposition of the weapon (third degree) in Salem. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Daniel Gullick, 41, of Lehighton, Pennsylvania, was indicted on five counts, including unlawful possession and unlawful transport of seven weapons in Newark, including six handguns and one assault weapon, a STG Romanian AK-47. He is in custody, serving a sentence in a Pennsylvania prison on other charges.

The gun trafficking cases are being handled by Supervising Deputy Attorneys General Mark Eliades and Andrew Butchko, Senior Counsel Deputy Attorneys General Phillip Aronow and John Corson, and Deputy Attorneys General Julia S. Glass, Daniel Bornstein, and Christopher St. John, all of whom are assigned to the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.

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