NEW YORK – Attorney General Letitia James announced Friday the indictments of three individuals involved in a gun trafficking operation that illegally sold 184 firearms in Queens County. The 579-count indictment charges Deundre Wright, 22, Abner Sparkes, 31, and Ethan Charles, 22, all from Queens, with trafficking assault weapons, semiautomatic pistols, revolvers, high-capacity magazines, and ammunition. The operation transported firearms from Goldsboro, North Carolina, to New York City.
“The majority of guns used in crimes in New York City are illegally trafficked from other states with lax gun laws,” said Attorney General James. “This investigation shut down a major gun trafficking operation that brought a flood of dangerous weapons into our communities.”
The takedown resulted from a joint effort by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) and the DEA’s New York Strikeforce. The investigation utilized controlled purchases, covert surveillance, and electronic monitoring.
From March to July 2024, Wright sourced firearms in North Carolina and transported them to Queens, where they were sold for prices ranging from $1,000 to $2,500. On August 8, investigators detained Wright and Charles in Manhattan, seizing 41 firearms, including shotguns and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
The indictment, unsealed before Queens County Supreme Court Judge Leigh Cheng, includes charges of Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree and Criminal Possession of a Firearm in the First Degree, both class B violent felonies. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
DEA New York Division Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino remarked, “The removal of over 150 firearms, which includes numerous assault weapons, just made the streets of New York City and our neighborhoods safer.”
NYPD Interim Commissioner Thomas G. Donlon emphasized the ongoing efforts to disrupt gun trafficking networks, stating, “Disrupting and dismantling gun trafficking networks is a top priority for our city.”
The investigation received support from various agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Queens District Attorney’s Office, and law enforcement in North Carolina. The case is being prosecuted by the OCTF.