Willingboro Man Sentenced to 32 Months in Federal Prison for Running Guns from Georgia to New Jersey

CAMDEN, NJ—A Willingboro man was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison today for having a straw buyer purchase handguns in Georgia, which he then transported to New Jersey, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra announced.

U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman also ordered Terrek K. Parker, 23, to pay a $1,000 fine and to serve 3 years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison term. Parker has been held in federal detention since his arrest on Dec. 8, 2008.

On April 21, 2009, Parker pleaded guilty before Judge Hillman to a six-count Indictment, which charged him, and Tonya D. Williams, of Augusta, Ga., with one count of conspiracy and five counts of aiding and abetting the making of false statements in the acquisition of firearms. The Indictment was returned on Nov. 10, 2008, by a grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia (“SDGA”) and transferred to the District of New Jersey for the purpose of the defendant’s guilty plea.

At his plea hearing, Parker admitted that he met Williams in 2007 when she was the girlfriend of his father, who lived in Georgia. Parker admitted that at various times in 2007 and 2008 he visited his father in Georgia, during which he asked Williams to purchase firearms for him to bring back to New Jersey. Parker admitted giving Williams money at various times to purchase a total of eight handguns, which included Glock and Ruger .45 caliber semi-automatic pistols, a Springfield Armory .357 caliber semiautomatic pistol, Glock and Sig Arms .40 caliber semi-automatic pistols, a Glock 9mm caliber semi-automatic pistol and a Smith and Wesson .50 caliber revolver.

Parker admitted that Williams went to federally licensed firearms dealers and completed ATF Form 4473, attesting to the fact that the firearms she was purchasing were for her.

Furthermore, Parker admitted that the Ruger .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol and the Smith and Wesson .50 caliber revolver were recovered from his residence on April 6, 2007. Parker also admitted that the Glock .45 caliber pistol was recovered from Tarrell Mathews’ residence in Willingboro after the police responded to a report of shots fired Oct. 11, 2007.

Parker was arrested by Special Agents with the FBI and ATF, along with Investigators with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, on a federal criminal Indictment filed in SDGA and made his initial appearance in federal court in Camden before U.S. Magistrate Joel Schneider.

In determining the actual sentence, Judge Hillman consulted the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Marra credited Special Agents with the FBI’s Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun in Newark; ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew W. Horace in Newark; and Investigators with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi, with the investigation leading to the criminal complaint.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Richardson of the Criminal Division in Camden.

Defense Attorney: Robin Lord, Esq. Trenton