Photo Courtesy of DA Katz
In all, 182 firearms, 136 high-capacity magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were recovered during the investigation.
By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, on Thursday announced a 1,611-count indictment and the arrests of five individuals allegedly involved in a gun-trafficking ring using the notorious Iron Pipeline to smuggle guns purchased in Knoxville, Tennessee, which were then sold illegally in Queens. Law enforcement officials removed more than 180 illegal weapons from Queens neighborhoods, along with 136 high-capacity magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition during the course of an 11-month-long investigation, titled Operation Hotcakes.
The DA identified the defendants as Anthony “Tony” Sanford, 57, of Jamaica, Queens; Oliver Sanford, 40, of Springfield Gardens, Queens; Jonathan Harris, 28, of Starling Avenue, the Bronx; Thomas Parsley, 44, of Mickle Avenue, the Bronx; and Richard “Rick” Horne, 70, of Blountville, TN. The defendants were variously indicted by a Queens County grand jury on July 19, 2022 on charges of criminal sale of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon and conspiracy.
The indictments allege that the ring operated with Jonathan Harris as the main dealer, Richard Horne as the main supplier and Anthony Sanford, his nephew Oliver Sanford, and Thomas Parsley acting as the principal re-sellers and distributors of the weapons sold across Queens and the Bronx.
DA Katz said the investigation began in two separate parts: Following prior intelligence gathered during the summer of 2021, defendant Anthony Sanford sold five handguns as well as .357 and .40 caliber ammunition to an undercover police officer in August and October 2021 in Queens. Sanford’s nephew, Oliver, was observed conducting counter surveillance during both transactions.
According to the charges, a total of 22 buys were allegedly completed between the undercover officer and Anthony Sanford between August 2021 and April 2022 in and around Jamaica and Springfield Gardens, yielding 145 firearms and 99 high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.
An unrelated investigation, initiated in November 2021, revealed the workings of an arms dealer selling guns on the streets of the Bronx, later identified as defendant Jonathan Harris. DA Katz said, throughout the duration of the entire investigation, the defendants allegedly sold the undercover officers and were otherwise found in possession of 182 firearms, 136 high-capacity magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
“Illegal gun traffickers who flood our neighborhoods with dangerous firearms put every resident of our borough at grave risk,” Katz said. “We have seen far too many instances of guns, purchased down South and trafficked into New York, that are then recovered at devastating crime scenes, leaving bloodshed and tragedy on our streets. Cutting off the notorious Iron Pipeline supply chain of these deadly weapons is a top priority for my administration. I want to thank the NYPD’s Firearms Investigation Unit for working closely with my Office’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau in bringing these defendants to justice. We will continue our efforts against the proliferation of gun violence in this borough.”
Commissioner Sewell added, “I commend our NYPD detectives and prosecutors in Queens for their sustained focus in this case to interdict guns before they hit our streets. This is the work we all must continue – and we will – because the lives of New Yorkers we serve depend on it.”
