Pennsylvania officials announced arrests related to the illegal purchase and sale of 94 guns, the most bought and sold by a single trafficking organization to date.
Police arrested Larry Williams, 44, who is the alleged leader of the operation. Williams himself is banned from buying, owning, or possessing firearms because of past convictions. He recruited a group of mostly 20-year-olds to buy the guns which were then sold to people who are prohibited from buying firearms, investigators said. Some of the trafficked guns have already been used to commit violent crimes, according to Acting Pa. Attorney General Michelle Henry.
Police arrested eight suspects from Philadelphia on dozens of felony charges related to straw purchases of firearms, illegally transferring firearms, and operating a corrupt organization. A straw purchase is when a person with a clean background record buys a gun for another person to hide who will actually own it. The real owners are often people with criminal records, domestic violence offenders, juveniles, and people with mental illness.
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Under Williams' guidance, the purchasers allegedly bought 94 guns and attempted to buy 23 others, according to Henry.
Law enforcement officials have recovered 29 of the trafficked guns, which means 65 are still unaccounted for. Officials recovered the firearms using search warrants related to other criminal activities. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said getting the remaining guns back is a priority due to fears they could be involved in future crimes.
The group purchased about half of the guns at gun shows across Pennsylvania, including the Oaks Gun Show in Montgomery County where members of the organization bought 13 guns over two days from seven federally licensed gun dealers, investigators said. Williams attended the gun show, directing purchases and providing rides, according to law enforcement.
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When Williams did not directly oversee a purchase, he often sent directions to the people he worked with over texts and phone calls, investigators said. The group also allegedly purchased illegal firearms in Allentown, Bloomsburg, Wind Gap, and York.
The investigation into the gun trafficking organization began in June 2022. Law enforcement officials used surveillance footage, interviews, social media posts, cash transfers, and other methods of investigation to track down some of the firearms.
Law enforcement identified the purchasers as:
- Robert Cooper III, age 23
- Ziair Stenson, age 26
- Malik Rowell-Jernigan, age 24
- Kevin Lester Logan, age 24
- Daynell Jones, age 40
- Zakayla S. Deshields, age 22
- Shadiid Smalley, age 23
‘We are awash in a sea of illegal guns that are too easy to acquire and many of which we know – we have the proof in the case – to commit violent crimes,” Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said.
