Three People Charged in Interstate Gun Trafficking Conspiracy
NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Newark Division Craig B. Kailimai, and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a New Jersey man and two men from South Carolina have been charged with conspiring to illegally sell firearms, including five pistols and one rifle, in and around Essex County, New Jersey.
Torell Brown, 45, of Orangeburg, South Carolina, Carter Wilkerson, 21, of Orangeburg, South Carolina, and Mark Washington, 57, of Irvington, New Jersey, are each charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to engage in the busines of unlicensed firearms dealing. Brown and Washington are each additionally charged with one count of possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon.
Brown, Wilkerson, and Washington were arrested May 18, 2021, and appeared by videoconference today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer. Brown and Washington were detained; Wilkerson was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.
From April 2021 through May 18, 2021, Brown, Wilkerson, and Washington were members of a drug trafficking conspiracy. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Brown and Wilkerson trafficked six firearms and a large quantity of ammunition, with the intent to sell these weapons to at least one New Jersey resident. On May 18, 2021, Washington attempted to thwart law enforcement from recovering certain of these firearms.
The count of conspiracy to engage in the business of unlicensed firearms dealing carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The counts of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents and task force officers of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson in Newark, and special agents and task force officers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Craig B. Kailimai, and, with the investigation leading to the charges.
21-35 ###