{"id":593,"date":"2016-04-26T15:25:21","date_gmt":"2016-04-26T15:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ucnj.org\/sheriff\/?p=593"},"modified":"2016-04-26T15:26:16","modified_gmt":"2016-04-26T15:26:16","slug":"district-attorney-vance-and-police-commissioner-bratton-announce-indictment-of-firearm-ring-that-trafficked-more-than-80-guns-from-iron-pipeline-states-to-manhattan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ucnj.org\/sheriff\/press-releases\/main\/2016\/04\/26\/district-attorney-vance-and-police-commissioner-bratton-announce-indictment-of-firearm-ring-that-trafficked-more-than-80-guns-from-iron-pipeline-states-to-manhattan\/","title":{"rendered":"District Attorney Vance and Police Commissioner Bratton Announce Indictment of Firearm Ring that Trafficked more than 80 Guns from \u201cIron Pipeline\u201d States to Manhattan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Press release reposted from the District\u00a0Attorney’s\u00a0Office in New York\u00a0County, in the State of New York.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Indictment Charges Six Defendants \u2013 Including Four Firearms Dealers from Virginia and Georgia \u2013 with Conspiring to Sell 82 Assault Weapons, Pistols, Revolvers, and Ammunition<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div><\/div>\n
\n

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton today announced the indictment of ABDUL DAVIS, 52, for selling 82 firearms and corresponding ammunition to an undercover NYPD detective posing as a Manhattan-based gun dealer, and DAVIS\u2019s girlfriend, SHELITA FUNDERBERK, 50, for her role in the sales. The indictment also charges four Virginia- and Georgia-based men \u2013 TRENTON POINTER, 45, DAEMON JENKINS, 49, MALIK RAINEY, 44, and MILTON TILLERY, 37 \u2013 for knowingly supplying the firearms for illegal sales in New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The defendants are all charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, as well as various counts of Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First, Second, and Third Degrees.[1] The indictment follows a long-term investigation, including the use of court-authorized wiretaps, conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s Office\u2019s Trial Division and detectives from the NYPD\u2019s Firearms Investigation Unit.<\/p>\n

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., said: \u201cThis alleged interstate trafficking conspiracy clearly illustrates how deadly firearms from \u2018Iron Pipeline\u2019 states flood New York City\u2019s streets. To stem the flow of illegal guns, we must deter traffickers from this lucrative business by prosecuting not only Manhattan-based illegal weapons dealers, but residents of Southern states who knowingly provide them with guns to be resold in our city.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut to deter those who stand to make tens of thousands of dollars by selling large quantities of firearms, we must enhance the penalties they face. Currently, whether a defendant sells 10 firearms or 10,000, the penalty is the same: a class B felony. Today I am asking the New York State legislature to create a new A-1 felony, Operating as a Major Firearms Trafficker, for those who illegally sell or possess 20 or more firearms. Modeled after New York\u2019s existing \u2013 and proven \u2013 Drug Kingpin statute, our proposed Gun Kingpin statute is necessary to put wholesale, illegal weapons dealers out of business.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said: \u201cIllegal firearms like these fuel the very violence in our streets we seek to combat. As alleged, Abdul Davis is responsible for selling more than six dozen firearms in more than 26 separate transactions on the streets of Manhattan. I commend the investigators of the Firearms Investigations Unit and the Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s Office for dismantling this firearms ring.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the indictment and documents filed in court, between March 16, 2015, and April 19, 2016, DAVIS sold 82 firearms, including 67 pistols, 8 revolvers, 5 assault weapons, and 2 shotguns, as well as corresponding ammunition, to an undercover NYPD detective posing as a Manhattan-based firearms dealer. The sales occurred over 26 separate transactions, all of which took place in the vicinity of West 166th Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue in Washington Heights. The sales were conducted in or around the undercover detective\u2019s vehicle, at an average price of approximately $1,150 per firearm. In one instance, DAVIS sold the undercover a Bushmaster Firearms semi-automatic assault rifle with a hundred-round drum magazine and matching ammunition.<\/p>\n

FUNDERBERK was present for multiple sales, and drove DAVIS to at least two of the transactions. The investigation revealed that FUNDERBERK allowed DAVIS to use funds from her bank account to purchase the firearms, and, on multiple occasions, wired money to DAVIS for that purpose.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DAVIS allegedly purchased the firearms from Virginia-based co-defendants JENKINS, TILLERY, and POINTER, and Georgia-based RAINEY. Typically, DAVIS negotiated sales over the phone or through text messages, wired money to the firearms dealers\u2019 accounts, and travelled to their homes to pick up the weapons. On some occasions, the firearm dealers agreed to receive payment after DAVIS successfully returned to Manhattan and sold the weapons to the undercover detective.<\/p>\n

The investigation was conducted jointly by the Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit (VCEU) and the NYPD\u2019s Firearms Investigation Unit. VCEU was created in 2010 by District Attorney Vance to lead the efforts of the Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s Office in combatting gun and gang violence, with a special focus on illegal firearms trafficking within New York City. Since its formation, VCEU has brought 22 indictments against 70 gun traffickers operating between New York City and states including Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Since its creation, VCEU has increased gun trafficking prosecutions by the Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s Office by more than 1,000 percent, and has conducted investigations resulting in the removal of more than 1,000 illegal firearms from the streets of New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Assistant District Attorney David Nasar is prosecuting the cases under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Christopher Prevost, Deputy Chief of VCEU; Christopher Ryan, Chief of VCEU; and David O\u2019Keefe, Deputy Chief of the Trial Division; as well as Executive Assistant District Attorney John Irwin, Chief of the Trial Division. Investigative Analysts Stephanie Littell and William Andrewes are assisting with the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n

District Attorney Vance thanked Police Commissioner Bratton, as well as Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce, Deputy Chief James Essig, Deputy Inspector Brian Gill, Captain Jonathan Korabel, Lieutenant Thomas McPartland, Sergeants Matthew Griffin and Robert Abramson, Detectives Christopher Shaughnessy and Douglas Lansing, and the undercover detectives of the Firearms Investigation Unit.<\/p>\n

District Attorney Vance also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service\u2019s Richmond, VA, Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, as well as the Union County (NJ)\u2019s Sheriff\u2019s Office\u2019s Warrant Squad, for their assistance with the investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court, including the indictments, and statements made on the record in court.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Defendant Information:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

ABDUL DAVIS, D.O.B. 3\/23\/1964<\/strong>
Linden, NJ \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Charges:\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count<\/li>\n
  • Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, 28 counts<\/li>\n
  • Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree, a class D felony, 80 counts<\/li>\n
  • Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a class D felony, 6 counts<\/li>\n
  • Conspiracy in the 4th Degree, a class E felony, one count<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    <\/div>\n

    SHELITA FUNDERBERK, D.O.B. 10\/31\/1965<\/strong>
    Linden, NJ<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Charges:\u00a0<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count<\/li>\n
    • Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree, a class D felony, 21 counts<\/li>\n
    • Conspiracy in the 4th Degree, a class E felony, one count<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      <\/div>\n

      TRENTON POINTER, D.O.B. 1\/16\/1971<\/strong>
      Chesterfield, VA<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Charges:\u00a0<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count<\/li>\n
      • Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree, a class D felony, eight counts<\/li>\n
      • Conspiracy in the 4th Degree, a class E felony, one count<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
        <\/div>\n
        \n

        MALIK RAINEY, D.O.B. 4\/14\/1972<\/strong>
        Fayetteville, GA<\/strong><\/p>\n

        Charges:\u00a0<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count<\/li>\n
        • Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree, a class D felony, five counts<\/li>\n
        • Conspiracy in the 4th Degree, a class E felony, one count<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          <\/div>\n

          DAEMON JENKINS, D.O.B. 7\/20\/1966<\/strong>
          Richmond, VA<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Charges:\u00a0<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree, a class D felony, four counts<\/li>\n
          • Conspiracy in the 4th Degree, a class E felony, one count<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
            <\/div>\n

            MILTON TILLERY, D.O.B. 12\/9\/1978<\/strong>
            Richmond, VA<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Charges:\u00a0<\/p>\n

              \n
            • Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count<\/li>\n
            • Conspiracy in the 4th Degree, a class E felony, one count<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Press release reposted from the District\u00a0Attorney’s\u00a0Office in New York\u00a0County, in the State of New York. Indictment Charges Six Defendants \u2013 Including Four Firearms Dealers from Virginia and Georgia \u2013 with Conspiring to Sell 82 Assault Weapons, Pistols, Revolvers, and Ammunition Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and New York City Police Commissioner William J.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-main","post_format-post-format-aside"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"1970-01-01 00:00:00","action":"","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","browser_timezone_offset":0},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucnj.org\/sheriff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucnj.org\/sheriff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucnj.org\/sheriff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucnj.org\/sheriff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucnj.org\/sheriff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ucnj.org\/sheriff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucnj.org\/sheriff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucnj.org\/sheriff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucnj.org\/sheriff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}