TRENTON
-Attorney General Paula T. Dow today announced
indictments against nine individuals, including
a man who allegedly was bringing guns from
Virginia to sell to gang members in Trenton,
and a Glassboro man who allegedly was illegally
selling assault weapons. The indictments
stem from a historic partnership involving
the New Jersey State Police, the U.S. Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives,
the Division of Criminal Justice and other
agencies to trace crime guns and investigate
those illicitly trafficking guns in New
Jersey.
Attorney
General Dow announced the indictments at
the Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton with
Special Agent in Charge Matthew W. Horace
of ATF’s Newark Field Division, Major
Matt Wilson of the New Jersey State Police,
and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J.
Taylor.
According
to Director Taylor, the Division of Criminal
Justice obtained an indictment charging
Trayle Beasley, 29, of Trenton, with leading
a network that trafficked guns to Trenton
from the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including
guns recovered in connection with several
homicide investigations and a narcotics
investigation. Three Virginia men and a
New Jersey man are charged with conspiring
with him. Beasley is charged with leading
a gun trafficking network, a first-degree
crime which carries a maximum sentence of
20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
A
second indictment charges a Glassboro man
with selling assault weapons to an undercover
trooper, and possessing a machine gun and
assault rifles in his home. Two more indictments
charge a Fort Dix soldier with unlawfully
disposing of two handguns he brought to
New Jersey from Texas, and mailing a third
gun from Texas to two co-defendants in New
Jersey.
“Our
historic partnership with ATF enables law
enforcement in New Jersey to track guns
used in crimes and conduct investigations
that extend beyond our borders, where three-quarters
of the illicit guns in this state originate,”
said Attorney General Dow. “Through
this type of investigation, we will aggressively
target those responsible for the proliferation
of deadly firepower on our streets.”
“Firearms
trafficking investigations are a priority
for ATF in New Jersey,” said Special
Agent in Charge Horace. “These indictments
represent the federal government response
to this crime issue in New Jersey and demonstrate
our continued partnership with the New Jersey
State Police, Attorney General’s Office,
and the Division of Criminal Justice. As
long as criminals continue to bring illegal
firearms and crime guns into the State of
New Jersey, we will continue to utilize
every resource at our disposal to protect
the public against the end result of these
schemes.”
“Guns
illegally sold in New Jersey are often being
bought by criminals who could not obtain
them the right way, and criminals with guns
equates to shooting deaths,” said
Major Matt Wilson, Commanding Officer of
the Intelligence Section of the New Jersey
State Police. “Tracing seized crime
guns with the help of the ATF is leading
to arrests and stemming the tide of illegal
weapons on the streets,” he added.
“These
gun trafficking cases are part of our broader
strategy to reduce gun violence in New Jersey,”
said Director Taylor. “Our efforts
have been enhanced by this outstanding partnership
with State Police and ATF, as well as recent
changes in state law that have increased
sanctions for gun crimes, making unlawful
possession of a handgun a second-degree
crime subject to a sentence of five to 10
years in prison, with three to five years
of mandatory parole ineligibility.”
The
indictments resulted from investigations
led by the New Jersey State Police - ATF
Joint Firearms Task Force and Division of
Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime
Bureau. The task force includes members
of the Trenton Police Department, Mercer
County Sheriff’s Office and Ocean
County Prosecutor’s Office. The task
force also worked with the Hamilton Police
Department (Mercer County), East Windsor
Police Department, Glassboro Police Department,
Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office,
and officers from the Eastern Shore Drug
Task Force in Virginia, including members
of the Virginia State Police, the Northampton
County Sheriff’s Department and the
Accomack County Sheriff’s Department.
Supervising
Deputy Attorney General Andrew M. Butchko
has coordinated the cases for the DCJ Gangs
& Organized Crime Bureau and presented
the Beasley case to the state grand jury.
Deputy Attorney General Jill S. Mayer presented
the Dixon case to the state grand jury,
and Deputy Attorney General Cassandra Serentino
presented the Ivery cases.
Attorney
General Dow thanked the supervisors and
agents of ATF who conducted the investigations
through the State Police - ATF Joint Firearms
Task Force, as well as all of the members
of the task force and other agencies that
assisted in the investigations. She thanked
the following members of the New Jersey
State Police: Detective Sgt. Eric Barlow,
Detective Sgt. Brian Duross, Detective Brian
Ruane and Detective Marc Friedenberger.
She also credited Detective Gary Britton
of the Trenton Police, Detective Jeff Dorian
of the East Windsor Police, and members
of the Eastern Shore Drug Task Force in
Virginia, including Scott Wade of the Virginia
State Police, who is lead investigator for
the Virginia task force, Lt. Timothy Reibel
of the Virginia State Police, Detective
Steve Lewis of the Northampton County Sheriff’s
Department, and Detective Wayne Greer of
the Accomack County Sheriff’s Department.
Two
of the cases resulted from NJ Trace, a first-in-the-nation
partnership of the Attorney General’s
Office, State Police and ATF to trace crime
guns recovered in New Jersey using ATF’s
national eTrace information system. An Attorney
General directive requires that information
on all guns seized by police in New Jersey
be entered into the system for tracking
within 24 hours.
According
to ATF statistics, approximately 75 percent
of the guns that were recovered by police
in New Jersey in 2009 and traced to their
state of origin came from outside of New
Jersey. Approximately 16 percent - the largest
share of any other state - came from Pennsylvania,
followed by Virginia, which was the source
of 9 percent of the guns. Texas ranked ninth
among the source states, with 55 guns originating
there.
Investigations
conducted by the State Police - ATF Joint
Firearms Task Force have led to the seizure
of more than 230 weapons. The seized weapons
include nine assault weapons, a grenade
launcher, a machine gun, 14 rifles, seven
shotguns, more than 200 handguns, and several
large-capacity ammunition magazines. Since
the Division of Criminal Justice began working
with the Joint Firearms Task Force in 2008,
the Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau has
obtained 20 indictments charging 27 individuals,
including the indictments returned in the
three cases announced today. Six cases have
been referred to the District Attorney's
Offices in Bucks, Carbon, Northampton and
Monroe Counties, Pennsylvania. Investigations
have taken detectives to Virginia, Georgia,
Texas and Pennsylvania.
Beasley
Indictment
According
to Director Taylor, Beasley was indicted
by a state grand jury on Friday, May 21.
The indictment stems from an investigation
by the State Police - ATF Joint Firearms
Task Force, Trenton Police Department, Hamilton
(Mercer County) Police Department, East
Windsor Police Department, Mercer County
Sheriff’s Office and Eastern Shore
Drug Task Force in Virginia.
Four
other men were charged with second-degree
conspiracy and other offenses for allegedly
conspiring with Beasley to transport guns
into New Jersey illegally, or to unlawfully
possess or dispose of guns in New Jersey.
They are:
- Amoi
Smith, 21, of Cranbury;
- Johnathan
Johnson, 28, of Cape Charles, Va.;
- Bobby
Lee Henderson, 24, of Townsend, Va.; and
- Larry
Nottingham, 28, of Eastville, Va.
It
is alleged that Beasley was selling guns
to drug dealers and gang members in Trenton.
He allegedly solicited individuals in the
Eastern Shore of Virginia to provide him
with guns. Growing up, Beasley lived in
both New Jersey and the Eastern Shore of
Virginia. Beasley allegedly preferred to
deal in revolvers because they do not leave
shell casings at crime scenes.
Beasley
is charged specifically in connection with
12 guns, including eight handguns, two shotguns
and two rifles. Five of the guns were seized
by the Maryland State Police on Nov. 16,
2008, when they executed a search warrant
for Beasley’s car after stopping him
as he drove north on Route 13 in Worcester
County, Md. Beasley served a one-year prison
sentence in Maryland for unlawful possession
of those guns, which included a shotgun
and four handguns. The other seven guns
were recovered by police in New Jersey in
connection with crimes. The investigation
into Beasley stemmed from intelligence gathered
through the NJ Trace program.
It
is alleged that Johnson would either purchase
or gather weapons for Beasley or would coordinate
meetings for Beasley, during which Beasley
would purchase weapons from others in the
Eastern Shore of Virginia. Beasley allegedly
bought guns with money, marijuana or other
narcotics. Henderson and Nottingham alleged
sold guns that Beasley transported or attempted
to transport to New Jersey. Smith allegedly
traveled to Virginia with Beasley on trips
to get guns. Beasley and Smith are also
charged in a pending indictment obtained
by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s
Office in connection with an armed robbery
in East Windsor in March 2009.
Beasley
is being held in the Mercer County Jail
with bail set at $250,000 cash. Arrest warrants
were issued for the other four defendants
in connection with the indictment.
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in state prison and a $150,000 fine. In
addition to the second-degree conspiracy
count against all five defendants, Beasley
and Johnson each face numerous other second-degree
counts. Smith and Henderson each face one
second-degree count of either transportation
or attempted transportation of a firearm
into New Jersey for unlawful sale or transfer.
Beasley and Nottingham are charged with
fourth-degree unlawful disposition of a
firearm, which carries a maximum sentence
of 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Beasley is charged with four counts, and
Nottingham with one.
Dixon
Indictment
According
to Director Taylor, Horace Dixon Jr., 49,
of Glassboro, is charged in a May 20 state
grand jury indictment in connection with
11 guns, including one machine gun, six
semi-automatic rifles, three semi-automatic
pistols, and one shotgun. He allegedly sold
four of the guns to an undercover State
Police detective, and the other seven guns
were seized when investigators executed
search warrants for his car and home.
Dixon
was arrested by state troopers on Aug. 13,
2009, in the parking lot of a bowling alley
on Route 47 in Glassboro as a result of
an investigation by the New Jersey State
Police - ATF Joint Firearms Task Force,
Glassboro Police Department and Gloucester
County Prosecutor’s Office. Dixon
was allegedly at the location to sell guns
to an undercover State Police detective.
In
early July, the Glassboro Police Department
learned of two assault rifles for sale and
contacted the ATF. As a result, a State
Police detective acting undercover as part
of the Joint Firearms Task Force allegedly
arranged to purchase weapons from Dixon.
When purchasing the guns, the undercover
detective allegedly indicated to Dixon that
he planned to deface the serial numbers
on the guns and sell them on the street.
It
is alleged that on July 17, 2009, Dixon
sold the undercover detective two guns for
$3,000, a 7.62 x 39 mm FEG semi-automatic
rifle and a .233-caliber Norinco semi-automatic
rifle. He allegedly included three large-capacity
ammunition magazines for the Norinco rifle.
It is alleged that on Aug. 7, 2009, Dixon
sold two more guns to the undercover detective
for $2,000, a .380-caliber Bersa semi-automatic
pistol and a .223-caliber Romarm semi-automatic
rifle. He allegedly included a large-capacity
magazine for the Romarm rifle.
When
Dixon was arrested, police executed a search
warrant for his car and seized a .45-caliber
Sig Sauer semi-automatic pistol, a .380-caliber
Star semi-automatic pistol, a 12-gauge Shandong
1st Machine Works pump action shotgun, a
7.62 x 39 mm Romarm semi-automatic rifle,
and a large-capacity magazine for the Romarm
rifle.
A
search warrant executed at Dixon’s
home allegedly yielded a grenade launcher
and more than 60 guns, including three guns
that are charged in the indictment: a Deutsche
Waffen Munitionsfabriken water-cooled, belt-fed
machine gun, a .223-caliber Ruger semi-automatic
rifle, and a 7.62 x 39 mm Norinco semi-automatic
rifle.
According
to Director Taylor, Dixon was charged in
the 25-count indictment with one count of
unlawful possession of a machine gun (2nd
degree), five counts of unlawful possession
of an assault firearm (2nd degree), three
counts of unlawful possession of a handgun
(2nd degree), two counts of unlawful disposition
of an assault firearm (3rd degree), four
counts of unlawful possession of a rifle
(3rd degree), one count of unlawful possession
of a shotgun (3rd degree), seven counts
of possession of a prohibited weapon (4th
degree), and two counts of unlawful disposition
of a firearm (4th degree).
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in prison and a $150,000 fine. The second-degree
counts of unlawful possession of a handgun
and unlawful possession of a machine gun
each carry a mandatory period of parole
ineligibility of three to five years in
prison. The third-degree offenses carry
a sentence of up to five years in prison,
including a mandatory period of parole ineligibility
of one-third to one-half of the sentence
imposed, and a $15,000 fine. Fourth-degree
offenses carry a sentence of up to 18 months
in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Dixon
is currently free on bail.
Ivery
Indictments
According
to Director Taylor, William James Ivery,
30, a member of the U.S. Army who is currently
stationed at Fort Dix, was charged in a
state grand jury indictment returned on
Tuesday, May 25, with one count of third-degree
unlawful possession of a weapon and one
count of fourth-degree unlawful disposition
of a firearm. It is alleged that Ivery purchased
two Jennings .380-caliber handguns in Texas,
while stationed there, and later disposed
of them unlawfully in New Jersey. One of
them was recovered from a stolen vehicle
in New Brunswick.
A
second indictment returned on Tuesday, May
25, charges Ivery and two other men, Ronald
Blakely Jr., 29, of Hamilton, and Abdul
Smith, 28, of Trenton. It is alleged that
Ivery, at Blakely’s request, mailed
a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun
that he purchased in Texas to an address
in Maple Shade, N.J., where Blakely and
Smith allegedly retrieved it. The Trenton
Police arrested Smith in possession of the
gun on March 9, 2008. In connection with
that arrest, Smith is charged in a pending
indictment obtained by the Mercer County
Prosecutor’s Office with second-degree
possession of a gun as a convicted felon
and fourth-degree possession of hollow-point
bullets.
The
state grand jury indictment charges Ivery,
Blakely and Smith with third-degree conspiracy,
which carries a sentence of up to five years
in prison. In addition, it charges Ivery
and Blakely with fourth-degree unlawful
disposition of a firearm, and charges Blakely
and Smith with third-degree unlawful possession
of a weapon and fourth-degree violation
of firearm regulations.
All
three defendants were arrested last night
on warrants issued in connection with the
indictments. Bail is set at $50,000 for
Smith, $40,000 for Ivery, and $35,000 for
Blakely.
All
four indictments announced today were handed
up in Superior Court in Mercer County, where
the Beasley indictment and one Ivery indictment
were assigned for trial. The Dixon indictment
was assigned to Gloucester County, and the
Ivery, Blakely and Smith indictment was
assigned to Burlington County.
The
indictments announced today are merely accusations
and the defendants are presumed innocent
until proven guilty.
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