Seven purported members of the Trinitarios street gang and a member of the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, street gang have been charged with selling more than a dozen illegal firearms and drugs to undercover operatives between 2012 and 2014, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced on Tuesday.
The suspects, who hail from Woodhaven, Jamaica, Jackson Heights, Glendale and College Point, are variously charged with second- and third-degree criminal sale of a firearm, second-, third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, third- and fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and fourth-degree criminal sale of marijuana.
According to the criminal charges, the suspects allegedly sold a total of 14 guns—with ammunition in some cases—cocaine, bath salts, and marijuana. The buys allegedly took place in Queens between November 2012 and June 2014. Unbeknownst to the alleged gang members, the buyers were undercover NYPD operatives.
For example, Brown said, Lucas Singh of College Point allegedly sold an undercover cop a defaced cut-down rifle, along with 50 rounds of ammunition, on July 30, 2013, for $850. On June 4, 2014, Singh allegedly sold another undercover agent a defaced .357 magnum revolver and a .32-caliber semi-automatic Kel-Tec pistol with ammunition for $1,200; and, on June 11, 2014, Singh sold the same undercover a .38-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver and a .380 semi-automatic Kel-Tec pistol along with 12 rounds of ammunition for $1,200.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 15 years in prison.
“The District Attorney’s Office is committed to ridding our communities of illegal guns and narcotics,” Brown said. “Illegal firearms that flood our streets pose a serious and deadly threat to public safety and the distribution of illegal drugs is a plague on our society. For those arrested, the message could not be clearer: law enforcement has no tolerance for those involved in the weapons and drug trade.”
Bratton added, “The flow of narcotics and firearms into our city results in destructive consequences that can severely impact our neighborhoods and prove detrimental to the quality of life of the residents who live there, but thanks to the efforts of the NYPD’s Gang Squad Queens, our law enforcement partners, and the prosecutors at the Queens District Attorney’s Office, these gang members who trafficked guns and drugs in Queens communities have been brought to justice.”
By Forum Staff
