Bronx Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Over 100 Firearms Into New York City

Edson Brown, a Bronx resident, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to all 18 counts in an indictment charging him with trafficking more than 100 firearms into New York City over a period spanning more than one year.

The scheme involved at least two straw purchasers who acquired the guns on Brown’s behalf, according to the Department of Justice. Brown then moved the firearms from out-of-state locations into New York City, where they entered the local illicit market. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, led by Jay Clayton, brought the case.

Brown now faces sentencing on the full set of charges. Federal firearms trafficking statutes carry mandatory minimum prison terms on several counts, including up to 15 years for certain violations involving interstate transport and false statements on purchase forms.

The exact penalties will be determined under federal sentencing guidelines that weigh the volume of guns, duration of the scheme, and use of straw purchasers.

The plea removes Brown from active trafficking operations and requires him to forfeit any assets tied to the scheme. It also obligates federal probation officers to monitor his compliance with post-release restrictions on firearm possession and contact with co-conspirators.

Prosecutors can use the guilty plea as precedent in related investigations targeting straw-purchaser networks that supply the New York metropolitan area.

This case is the latest in a series of Southern District of New York prosecutions aimed at interstate gun trafficking rings feeding the city’s illegal firearm supply. The original indictment detailed specific straw purchases and transport routes that operated for more than 12 months before federal agents disrupted the pipeline.

Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.