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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