FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 26, 2017
North Carolina Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison in Connection With
Trafficking 33 Guns to Sell on the Streets of Brooklyn
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 24-year-old man from North Carolina has been sentenced to 10 years in prison following his guilty plea last month to first-degree criminal sale of a firearm in connection with trafficking 33 firearms from his home state into Brooklyn.
Acting District Attorney Gonzalez said, “Today’s sentencing is further evidence of our commitment to stop illegal guns from being sold on the streets of Brooklyn. Lax gun laws down South are responsible for most of the guns used to commit crimes here. This defendant will now spend 10 years in a New York State prison for his actions, which put the safety of Brooklyn residents at risk.”
The Acting District Attorney identified the defendant as Marcus Gamble, 24, of Charlotte, North Carolina. He was sentenced today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Martin Murphy to 10 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision. He pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sale of a firearm last month.
The Acting District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on December 5, 2016, the defendant sold 10 loaded firearms to an undercover police officer and, on December 13, 2016, the defendant sold the undercover 15 loaded firearms for a total of about $27,000. The sales took place inside a car in the vicinity of Flatbush Avenue and Maple Street in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn.
On December 20, 2016, as the defendant was waiting for a third sale to commence, he was arrested inside a Golden Krust restaurant located at 568 Flatbush Avenue in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Eight guns and parts of an assault rifle were recovered from his backpack, according to the indictment.
The 33 guns the defendant transported to Brooklyn were mostly pistols and revolvers, including Smith & Wessons, Colts and Rugers. Some of the weapons were purchased legally in North Carolina to be sold illegally in Brooklyn and others were reported stolen, the investigation found. The defendant grew up in New York City, has extensive family ties to Brooklyn, but has been living in North Carolina for the past couple of years, according to the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Katie Lee Wright, of the District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau, under the supervision Assistant District Attorney Jonathan R. Sennett, Deputy Chief of VCE, and Assistant District Attorney Nicole Chavis, Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division.
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