Federal authorities charged a Georgia man with trafficking multiple firearms from Georgia to Jersey City which were subsequently used in acts of violence, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
According to authorities, Mr. Jonathan Brown, 26, of Covington, Georgia, was arrested today in Covington by special agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and is charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit the unlicensed sale of firearms.
Authorities said Brown had his initial appearance, and was detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for May 8, 2020, in the Northern District of Georgia.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Brown led a scheme to purchase firearms in or around Georgia and traffic those firearms to individuals in Jersey City.
Brown, who is barred from purchasing firearms himself due to multiple prior felony convictions, used straw purchasers in Georgia to obtain the firearms so that Brown could sell those firearms to others.
On multiple occasions, Brown brought firearms from Georgia to New Jersey to for sale.
Within months of Brown’s trips to Jersey City, law enforcement arrested numerous individuals in Jersey City in possession of firearms purchased by Brown’s straw purchasers.
At least one of the weapons trafficked by Brown was later used in the shooting of another person in Jersey City.
One of the individuals in possession of one of Brown’s guns had a prior felony conviction, and was therefore barred from possessing a firearm.
To date, law enforcement has recovered seven firearms allegedly trafficked by Brown in Jersey City.
The conspiracy count with which the defendant is charged carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.