Five charged in North Carolina-to-D.C. gun trafficking case; two hold D.C. special police licenses

By Rosa Montclair

WASHINGTON — Federal agents arrested five people this week on charges that they ran a firearms trafficking scheme that moved dozens of guns from North Carolina to the District and the surrounding region, and two of the five hold D.C. special police officer licenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned a 13-count indictment charging the five with offenses including conspiracy to traffic firearms, firearms trafficking and making false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer, the office said. Agents executed the five arrest warrants on Tuesday, Oct. 20, arresting four people in Maryland and one in Raleigh, N.C.

The enforcement action was conducted with the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, a federal task force chaired by the Homeland Security Advisor that works to curb violent crime, address narcotics and firearms offenses, enforce quality-of-life and transit rules and support local and federal police, according to the office. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle of the Eastern District of North Carolina announced the case.

“Gun-running networks do not respect state lines, and neither does our determination to stop them,” Pirro said in a statement. “This joint effort shows how coordinated enforcement can protect both Washington, D.C. communities and the communities where these schemes originate.”

What the indictment alleges

According to prosecutors, the task force determined that co-conspirators supplied approximately 40 firearms to people in the District, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and St. George’s, Grenada. At a news conference, Pirro said some of the guns were later linked to crime scenes involving drugs, robberies and a homicide, WTOP reported.

Prosecutors allege the scheme relied on straw purchases, in which a buyer falsely represents to a licensed dealer that he or she is the actual purchaser. The Justice Department said Brian Agee and Frank Rayvone Harris coordinated financing through two of the other defendants, according to WTOP. The investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began in June 2021 and used firearms tracing, ballistic evidence and DNA analysis, the station reported.

The indictment charges:

If convicted, the defendants face up to 15 years in federal prison on the conspiracy and trafficking counts and up to 10 years on the false-statement counts, the office said. “An indictment is merely an accusation,” the release notes. “All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.” The case number is 26-cr-218 in the Eastern District of North Carolina.

The special police licenses

Young and Whitaker hold valid special police officer licenses in the District, prosecutors said. Special police officers are private contract security personnel, not Metropolitan Police Department officers, WTOP reported. Pirro said Whitaker worked in security at D.C. Public Schools from 2022 to 2024, according to the station.

In the District, special police officers are licensed through the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection’s Security Program, which oversees security officers, special police officers and security agencies under the D.C. Municipal Regulations. Applicants must submit a notarized arrest affidavit and an authorization to release records and must schedule fingerprints with MPD, according to the department. MPD’s Security Officers Management Branch handles the police side of the process.

The release did not say whether either license has been suspended. The Inquisitor asked the licensing department and the MPD branch on Saturday whether the licenses remain active and what happens to a special police commission when a holder is federally charged.

Officials’ rationale

Federal officials framed the case as part of a broader push against guns flowing into the capital. “When bad guys buy guns here and ship them up to our nation’s beautiful capital to foment unrest and mayhem, they threaten the safety of families and communities who live there,” Boyle said.

ATF Director Rob Cekada said the agency and its partners on the task force “are dismantling trafficking networks and stopping the violence they fuel in our nation’s capital.” Aaron Sawyer, associate director of operations for the U.S. Marshals Service, said “the statistics show that the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force is making a real difference in reducing crime.”

FOX 5 DC and 7News (WJLA) also reported the charges.

The Inquisitor contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, D.C. Public Schools, the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, MPD’s Security Officers Management Branch and Everytown for Gun Safety on Saturday. This story will be updated with any responses.

Photo: Firearms seized by California law enforcement officers in 2012, shown for illustration; not related to this case. California Department of Justice / Wikimedia Commons, public domain.