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But together, according to court documents, Leonard J. Laraway and Bobby Perkins, Jr. created a pipeline of illegal firearms ranging from the suburbs of Virginia to the cities in the center of the coastline. Atlantic.
Many men-related firearms have been found by police in recent years, most of them in Washington, according to documents filed at the US District Court in Virginia. The guns sold by Perkins were "linked to three different homicides", including the murder of his own cousin, state prosecutors said.
Other weapons were recovered from an alleged cocaine dealer, as well as a bulletproof vest. a suspected hijacker accused of committing two armed robberies in one night; and the glovebox of a car – a bit within the grasp of a man who rushed into it arguing with the police, according to a CNN review of court records, reports police and interviews.
More than three years later, store manager Veronica Bermudez was two months pregnant on the day of the flight and still did not want to work outside her home.
"Until now, it's a nightmare for me," Bermudez told CNN. "I feel totally in danger, I'm going to live with it for the rest of my life."
Authorities prosecute Laraway and Perkins to provide insight into the world of unlicensed firearms trade, a common source used by criminals but difficult to control by the police. Unauthorized resellers sell guns without conducting a background check on potential buyers, making them a must-have source for those unable to pass these checks. The unspoken nature of such sales can make the future trajectory of the weapon difficult to predict.
Like many unauthorized dealers, Laraway seemed an unlikely suspect when he was examined by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, better known as the ATF.
He earned a six-figure salary as an engineer at the Defense Contract Management Agency and was pursuing a second master's degree at the prestigious US Naval War College.
According to the authorities, he also had a successful business as a black market arms dealer.
Laraway purchased firearms from licensed stores, photographed them, and posted them on the firearms sales website, with a brief description – – and an inflated price.
He told the authorities that he would receive phone calls from potential buyers, before meeting them in person in order to proceed with a private sale in cash, without administrative formalities.
So he sold dozens of firearms before finding his most trusted client: Perkins, a former ex-sailor who would later admit in court to have conspired on drugs in a drug complex. Apartments located in front of a primary school. [19659002] Perkins sold marijuana, crack, cocaine powder and heroin. He was known to clients and associates as "The Plug", slang of a great drug source. Perkins was still armed, often with more than one weapon at a time, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum, in which they also cited his well-known slogan for being always ready to shoot.
Laraway and Perkins met for the first time after Perkins responded to an online advertisement published by Laraway for a Glock pistol.
This was the beginning of a commercial relationship in which he would sell Perkins about 200 guns over a period of one year. According to the court records, a few months in 2015.
They met in person about two dozen times and Laraway finally began to "present" Perkins guns in anticipation of a future payment. To facilitate this arrangement, Laraway provided Perkins with his current account number. In the space of a few weeks in July and August 2015, Perkins made eight deposits to Laraway's account for a total amount of $ 37,000.
Laraway will later tell federal agents that Perkins was only interested in buying handguns and that he was still paying in cash. He also said that he knew that Perkins was reselling the weapons.
Last March, ATF officers found approximately 130 firearms found by the police and found by Laraway to be an initial buyer, according to an affidavit by Special Agent Ashleigh C. Hall. According to the affidavit, Laraway allegedly sold about 106 such firearms to Perkins before they were recovered by law enforcement.
In the summer of 2015, federal authorities found that Laraway had purchased more than 300 firearms in less than two years and opened an investigation. Laraway was charged in February 2016 for selling more than 400 non-licensed firearms. He pleaded guilty two months later and began cooperating against Perkins in exchange for what he hoped was a lighter sentence than the one he might otherwise risk getting.
Laraway's wife, Yali Yin, wrote to the judge at the time to ask her husband's indulgence "punctual mistake."
The defense lawyer Laraway notes the "highly decorated career of his client serving the United States of America" and his sincere remorse for his conduct.
"Since his arrest, Mr. Laraway has done everything possible to respond to his wrongdoing," wrote the lawyer.
Laraway was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and continued to cooperate against Perkins.
It would take nearly two years for Perkins to be accused of drug trafficking and sale of firearms without a license.
According to prosecutors, Perkins reportedly sold more than 200 handguns, "including to people he knew to be convicted criminals".
"It is difficult to overestimate the extent of the use of Perkins guns." Asst wrote US Alexander E. Blanchard.
And the number of recovered weapons continued to increase, Blanchard pointed out during the Perkins sentencing hearing in August 11. He told the judge that another firearm had been found during a search carried out just a day earlier, according to a transcript of the proceedings.
In court documents filed by his lawyer, Perkins has been described as a "hard worker." a loving husband and father "who overcame their exclusion from high school to get his GED, join the Marines and become a qualified electrician.
" Bobby is a good man … ", wrote his mother, a reverend, in a letter to the judge. "He made mistakes, but he was still working very hard to take care of his family."
Perkins briefly spoke at the sentencing hearing. told the judge that he had accepted responsibility for the mistakes he had made, but had denied being a violent person.
"I am not a violent person," said Perkins. "I do not like to deal with violence. "
Judge TS Ellis III challenged this claim before imposing his sentence, noting the more than 200 weapons he had sold and the fact that some "were found in the possession of criminals and used in other crimes."
"Perhaps that you have not shot at anyone and maybe you have not attacked anyone, but you were clearly surrounded by instruments of violence, "he said. Ellis. It is important, added the judge, "that any sentence that I inflict on you must be considered as a beacon, a warning to those who do not engage in this conduct"
. He then sentenced Perkins to 12 years in federal prison.
Laraway has already served her sentence and is already published. 19659002] In an interview with CNN, Edwin Brooks, Laraway's lawyer, stated that Laraway had started selling firearms because he was not earning enough money to provide for his lifestyle of the upper middle class. "Like everyone else," Brooks said, "there is a lot of debt: loans, credit cards – it was essentially a financial deal."
Although Laraway was no longer behind bars, he stated that his conviction had caused lasting harm. , including the loss of his government security clearance that prevents him from working in the field of his choice. Last fall, he ran a gas station.
"The collateral consequences were devastating," said Brooks.
Brooks said that Laraway was caught off guard by the sale of weapons to Perkins.
"There is no way to predict that this will happen, "said the lawyer.
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