PHILADELPHIA (WBTW) — Fourteen people, including a man from Myrtle Beach, have been charged in two different cases with trafficking guns into Pennsylvania in a phenomenon known as the ‘iron pipeline’.
In the first case, United States v. Norman, et al, the following 11 people were charged with conspiracy to deal firearms without a license and to make a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer:
- Fredrick Norman, 25, of Atlanta, Georgia;
- Brianna Walker “Mars”, 23, of Atlanta, Georgia;
- Charles O’Bannon “Chizzy,” 24, of Villa Rica, Georgia;
- Stephen Norman, 23, of Villa Rica, Georgia;
- Devin Church “Lant,” 24, of Villa Rica, Georgia;
- Kenneth Burgos “Peppito,” 23, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
- Edwin Burgos “Rock,” 29, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
- Roger Millington, 25, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
- Ernest Payton, 30, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
- Roselmy Rodriguez, 22, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and
- Brianna Reed, 21, of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
In this case, beginning in October 2020, agents identified multiple firearms which were recovered in the Philadelphia area as having been originally purchased in Georgia. The short time frame between the firearms’ purchase in Georgia and recovery in Philadelphia indicated that the weapons may have been trafficked into the city.
According to the Indictment, further investigation showed that over the course of six months, the conspiracy led by defendant Norman allegedly purchased nearly 300 firearms from dealers in and around Atlanta, and transported the firearms to Philadelphia for distribution and sale on the black market in exchange for approximately $116,000.
In the second case, United States v. Ware, et al, the following three people were charged with conspiracy to deal firearms without a license and to make a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer:
- Muhammad Ware “Moo,” 26, of Myrtle Beach;
- Haneef Vaughn “Neef,” 25, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and
- Jabreel Vaughn “Breely,” 20, of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.
In this case, beginning in March 2020, agents identified multiple firearms which were recovered in Philadelphia as having been originally purchased in South Carolina. Agents learned about a number of additional firearms recovered in Philadelphia with short “time to crime” periods that indicated they may have been trafficked into the city, just as in Norman, et al.
The recovered firearms were concentrated in a particular area of Philadelphia and were originally purchased near Myrtle Beach. Further investigation showed that Ware had purchased several of the recovered firearms, and conspired and communicated with Haneef Vaughn and Jabreel Vaughn, and others about the purchase, transportation and sale on the black market of over 100 illegal firearms.
If convicted of all charges Edwin Burgos, Kenneth Burgos, and Ware face a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. All other defendants face a statutory maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.
