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Seven Charged With Selling 89 Illegal Guns Near Where Police Officer Killed

By Jeff Mays | October 27, 2015 6:30pm
 The Manhattan District Attorney's Office indicted seven men who sold 89 illegal guns to an undercover officer over an 18-month period in the same neighborhood where Police Officer Randolph Holder was shot to death last week.
Seven Charged With Selling 89 Illegal Guns Near Where Police Officer Killed
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ONE POLICE PLAZA — The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has indicted seven men who sold 89 illegal guns to an undercover officer over an 18-month period in and around the neighborhood where NYPD Officer Randolph Holder was shot to death last week.

The gun sales, including assault weapons and powerful guns such as a .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum, included ammunition and took place in broad daylight in East Harlem and West Harlem, with seven occurring in The Bronx.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said the gun bust was particularly troubling in light of Holder's death last week. The officer was shot once in the head while tracking a suspect from a gang shootout.

Tyrone Howard, 30, of East Harlem, has been charged in the officer's death.

"What adds to the pain of that loss is that these guns are so available," de Blasio said.

The mayor said gun arrests are up 7 percent so far this year.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit and the NYPD’s Firearms Investigation Unit cooperated in the investigation.

The 45 transactions netted the defendants $52,000, officials said.

In a separate indictment, another man was charged with selling 15 guns to an undercover officer in Morningside Park from November 2014 to August 2015.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said most of the illegal guns in the city come from down south in what has been dubbed the "Iron Pipeline."

"We have a spigot that's wide open," Bratton said.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said it would be impossible for the city to prosecute its way out of the problem of illegal guns flowing into the city.

But Bratton said he has "no faith" that Congress could pass laws to stem the flow because they were beholden to campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association.

"It still amazes me of the insanity of the United States Congress, that they just don’t get it," Bratton said. "And I don’t know why they don’t get it, other than that they basically are constantly down there with their hands out to the NRA, looking for more and more money, and it’s just insanity."

Police divers recovered the weapon they believe was used to kill Holder in the Harlem River on Sunday. The weapon originated in South Carolina, de Blasio said.

"We've seen the human consequences of the Iron Pipeline," the mayor said. "We've lost police officers, we've lost parents, we've lost children because somehow this country still tolerates the notion of the free flow of guns."

Charged in the indictment are Samuel Barretto, 24, of Manhattan, Michael Akpan, 23, of The Bronx, Keith Hughes, 61, of Manhattan, Michael Rivera of Manhattan, Trayvon Smith, 19, of Manhattan and Carl Smalls, 26, of Manhattan.

Police say Barretto is suspected of selling 39 guns himself, including six assault weapons, and introduced undercover officers to many of the other defendants. Vance said the guns were purchased in the city and that Barretto acted as a broker. Smalls allegedly sold 37 weapons.

The men face charges ranging from criminal sale and possession of a firearm to conspiracy that could land them in prison for three to 25 years.

Charged in a separate indictment with criminal sale and possession of a firearm was Jayquan Griffin, 26, of Manhattan. Police say Griffin sold 15 guns to an undercover detective for $15,000 in and around Morningside Park in West Harlem.