Three Georgia men charged in interstate gun trafficking conspiracy

Three Georgia men and a New Jersey woman were charged Tuesday with conspiring to illegally sell firearms bound for New Jersey, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey said in a press release.

Tyheed Jefferson, of Albany, Georgia, Mathias Connor, 41, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Nakiya Glenn, 28, of Irvington, New Jersey, are charged by criminal complaint with one count of unlawfully selling firearms to an individual that they knew did not reside in their state of residence. Tyheed Jefferson, who was allegedly the group’s leader, was also charged with three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of methamphetamine distribution.

Another Albany man, Carnell Jefferson, 25, was charged with conspiracy to engage in the business of unlicensed firearms dealing.

The two Jeffersons and Glenn were arrested. Mathias Connor, of Atlanta, is still at large.

The Attorney’s Office says the group was part of a gun trafficking ring that transported illicit weapons to New Jersey.

The group allegedly used “straw purchasers” who would buy the guns in Georgia and then transport across state lines. Selling a weapon between states legally requires a lengthy regulatory process.

Carnell Jefferson allegedly purchased the firearms at licensed dealers before selling them to another conspirator, for which he was paid $50 per weapon. Those guns were later recovered in New Jersey, where they had been used for criminal activity, the release says.

The investigation recovered a total of 47 firearms, including assault rifles, revolvers, handguns, a shotgun, and ammunition.

This story was originally published July 19, 2017 at 8:28 AM with the headline "Three Georgia men charged in interstate gun trafficking conspiracy."