5 Arrested For Illegally Trafficking Black Market Guns Into Northern California
SACRAMENTO (CBS SF) -- A federal grand jury indicted five individuals including a 39-year-old Union City man Thursday, charging them with a conspiracy to bring firearms from Georgia to California in order to sell them on the black market.
U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said the charges had been handed down for 39-year-old Terrence Phillips of Union City; 31-year-old Jerrell Lawson of Sacramento; 29-year-old Aisha Hoggatt of Sacramento; 28-year-old Malek Williams of Atlanta; and 32-year-old James Gordley of Modesto.
All five defendants -- who were arrested on March 11 -- have been charged with conspiracy to unlawfully deal in firearms and unlawful dealing in firearms for their part in a firearms trafficking scheme.
Lawson, Hoggatt, Williams and Phillips were also charged with transferring a firearm to an out-of-state resident and the unlawful mailing of a firearm. Lawson was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to the criminal complaint, between November 2019 and October 2021, Lawson and his co-conspirators purchased over 500 firearms for more than $162,000.
Lawson brokered the firearms transactions in Georgia over the internet. Williams would pick up firearms in person and mail the firearms to various locations in California.
Some of the firearms went to individuals that were prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions.
Hoggatt worked with Lawson to coordinate the purchase, mailing and distribution of the firearms. Phillips and Gordley also distributed the firearms in Northern California.
The investigation began when a firearm used in a shooting in Sacramento was traced to the last known sale by a federally licensed dealer in Georgia. A subsequent sale of the firearm led to Lawson's organization. Lawson and his co-conspirators used coded language to traffic firearms and moved money using a variety of financial institutions.
During the investigation, intercepted packages destined for Lawson and other co-conspirators were found to contain firearms, ammunition, knives, and brass knuckles among other things.
If convicted, the defendants face the following maximum penalties: five years in prison on each count for conspiracy to unlawfully deal in firearms, unlawful dealing in firearms and transferring a firearm to an out-of-state resident, and two years in prison on each count for unlawful mailing of a firearm.
Lawson faces an additional maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
