South Carolina Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Transporting Stolen Weapons into New Jersey
Cache Included Military-Style Assault Rifles, Handguns, and Shotguns
| U.S. Attorney’s Office May 14, 2013 |
NEWARK, NJ—A South Carolina man was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for his role in transporting into New Jersey 22 firearms that were stolen from gun shops in Tennessee and North Carolina, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Bevan Holston, 41, of Columbia, South Carolina, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an information charging him with one count of transporting stolen firearms in interstate commerce. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On March 7, 2012, Bassir Baxter, 40, of Columbia, South Carolina; Cedric Reddick, 20; and his father, Holston, allegedly drove from South Carolina to the apartment of Terrell James, 23, of Newark, to illegally sell the firearms. All four were charged by complaint with transporting stolen firearms in interstate commerce.
The four men allegedly entered the apartment, where there were approximately 10 other individuals, and displayed firearms on the floor for the potential buyers. In total, 22 guns were recovered, including semi-automatic handguns and military-style assault rifles. Twenty had been stolen March 1, 2012, from a gun shop in Bristol, Tennessee. Two of the guns had been stolen February 16, 2012, from a gun shop in Boone, North Carolina. Police arrested James and Baxter inside the apartment. Reddick and Holston were arrested after jumping to a rooftop from the kitchen window.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Holston to three years of supervised release. The other three defendants are awaiting sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Cannon; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray; and the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Director Samuel DeMaio and Police Chief Sheilah Coley, with the investigation leading to today’s sentence.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney José R. Almonte of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Narcotics/OCDETF Unit.