Crime, Criminal Justice and Courts
Bronx DA: Bronx Man Sentenced to Prison for Selling 14 Firearms, Including Two Semi-Automatic Rifles, to Undercover Cop in the Bronx
November 7, 2019 3:24 PM·
BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR SELLING 14 FIREARMS, INCLUDING TWO SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLES,
TO UNDERCOVER COP IN THE BRONX
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling over a dozen firearms to an undercover NYPD detective in the Bronx.
District Attorney Clark said, "The defendant had in his possession multiple weapons that could have been used to injure or kill people in the Bronx. Throughout several occasions, the defendant sold the firearms to a brave, undercover NYPD Detective who was acting as a buyer. The defendant will now spend years in prison for promoting illegal guns in our communities. Public safety is a priority and my Office will continue to work to prosecute and hold accountable anyone who sells, possesses or shoots guns on Bronx streets."
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Frankie Esperanza, 35, of 2816 Schley Avenue, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years' post-release supervision today by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Robert Neary. The defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree Criminal Sale of a Firearm on October 2, 2019.
According to the investigation, Esperanza sold 14 firearms to an undercover NYPD detective on eight separate occasions between August 8, 2018 and January 28, 2019, at several locations in the Throgs Neck area of the Bronx. Among the weapons the defendant sold to the undercover detective were revolvers, pistols, two semi-automatic rifles, a high-capacity magazine and ammunition.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Julia Gordon, Supervisor in the Criminal Enterprise Bureau, under the supervision Denise Kodjo, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Enterprise Bureau, and the overall supervision of Tarek Rahman, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, and Jean T. Walsh, Chief of the Investigations Division.
District Attorney Clark thanked Assistant District Attorney Jordan Jackson of the Crime Strategies Unit, Assistant District Attorney Alexander Wolff of the Criminal Enterprise Bureau, and Vladimir Kocheulov, Chief of the Crime Strategies Unit, for their assistance in the case.
District Attorney Clark also thanked NYPD Deputy Inspector Brian V. Gill, Commanding Officer of the Firearms Suppression Section; NYPD Captain Jonathan P. Korbell, Commanding Officer; NYPD Detective Jonathan Jordan and Detective Dennis Kenefick, all of the Firearms Investigation Unit, and NYPD Detective Douglas Lansing of the Drug Enforcement Task Force, formerly of the Firearms Investigation Unit, for their assistance in the investigation.
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