Group shipped $162K in guns from Georgia to California — through USPS, feds say
Five people are accused of setting up an elaborate cross-country business to buy weapons in Georgia, ship them to the West Coast using the United States Postal Service and then resell them in California’s black market.
The group illegally purchased over 500 weapons over the years — worth over $162,000, authorities said.
Now, they could face prison time.
On March 24, Jerrell Lawson, Aisha Hoggatt, Malek Williams, Terrence Phillips and James Gordley were all charged with conspiracy to unlawfully deal in firearms and unlawfully dealing in firearms, court documents show. For each of these charges, they face a fine up to $250,000 and five years in prison.
From November 2019 to October 2021, the Lawson Firearms Trafficking Organization (“Lawson FTO”) is accused of purchasing about 520 firearms for over $162,000, court documents obtained by McClatchy News show.
None of the defendants had a federal firearms license, court documents show, making it illegal for them to purchase a firearm outside their state or ship a firearm through the mail.
“Some of the firearms went to individuals that are prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California said in a news release.
Defense attorneys for the individuals did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
The scheme
Lawson, from California, used websites to coordinate the purchase of the guns in Georgia, authorities said. He would present himself as a Georgia resident who possessed a concealed weapons permit.
Lawson had been previously convicted of a felony offense, meaning he couldn’t legally purchase, possess, or sell a firearm, court documents show.
Hoggatt, also from California, worked with Lawson to coordinate the purchases, mailing and distributing the firearms, authorities said.
Williams, from Georgia, is accused of conducting the “hand-to-hand gun transactions” in Georgia that Lawson previously set up online using money provided by the other participants in the scheme. He then mailed the weapons to California using the USPS, investigators said.
In California, Phillips and Gordley acted as the “sub-distributors” of the firearms after receiving the weapons, according to court documents. They were both convicted of felony offenses and also couldn’t legally own firearms, authorities said.
How the case unraveled
A December 2020 shooting in Sacramento led investigators to the organization after detectives said they traced a weapon used in that shooting back to the website used to move the guns from Georgia to the California black market.
During the investigation, agents said they discovered the same account purchased hundreds of weapons from 2019 to 2021, and determined that “purchasing several of the same make, model and caliber of firearm would make sense to resale, not for sporting or collecting.”
Authorities intercepted packages containing some of the firearms and uncovered financial records that show money moving from California to Georgia through various financial institutions, according to court documents.
Lawson, Hoggatt, Williams and Phillips were also charged with illegal transportation of firearms acquired outside of state of residency and unlawful mailing of a firearm.
Lawson was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, for which he faces 10 years in prison if convicted.
This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Group shipped $162K in guns from Georgia to California — through USPS, feds say."
