By Ben Fractenberg
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
DOWNTOWN — Three people were indicted Tuesday for selling weapons and drugs to undercover officers in upper Manhattan, police and prosecutors said.
Juan Rivas and Emmanuel Agesta, both 20, and Monica Amador, 21, were busted for selling 25 weapons worth $25,000 during a five-month police investigation, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said.
"These are young adults who who should have been in school, not with guns in their hands, headed either to prison or an early grave," said District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. at a Tuesday press conference.
The District Attorney’s office and the NYPD started a joint investigation into Rivas in June. During that time, Rivas allegedly sold 25 guns, including semiautomatic pistols and shotguns, on 16 different occasions to undercover police officers.
Rivas and Agesta were finally arrested on Nov. 9 after allegedly selling 115 grams of cocaine to an undercover detective inside a van near Sherman Avenue in Inwood.
Amador, who helped the men in other gun deals, was arrested later that day.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said half the guns sold to detectives came already loaded.
"These were headed for the hands of criminals," said Kelly.
