11-Year Prison Sentence for Man Behind Illegal Gun Trafficking Scheme

11-Year Prison Sentence for Man Behind Illegal Gun Trafficking Scheme!

A man who was involved in organizing illegal gun trafficking across state lines from Greenville and beyond has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Jakil Deandre Bond, 28, was sentenced to 141 months by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of North Carolina. Bond was convicted for his role in illegal firearm trafficking and drug distribution.

Bond, who is a member of the Rollin 40’s set of the Crips street gang, organized the purchase of firearms through co-defendants and straw purchasers, namely Malik Jaree Bazemore and Ti’quiran Rodgers, both of whom are also associated with gangs.

Federal authorities said that Bond worked with Bazemore and Rodgers to illegally acquire firearms, which were then distributed to other gang members.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with the Greenville Police Department, the Windsor Police Department, the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, and the D.C. Metro Police Department, investigated the case. U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley Jr. referred to the operation as “an iron pipeline of firepower from North Carolina to Washington, D.C.,” where the firearms fueled further gang violence.

Greenville Police Chief Ted Sauls praised the coordination between local, state, and federal agencies, ensuring that crimes like this are thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.

From 2019 to November 2021, Bond, along with his co-defendants Bazemore, Rodgers, and Barron Nathaniel Shaw, trafficked over 50 firearms from North Carolina to Washington, D.C., and other East Coast areas.

Bazemore and Rodgers, both from North Carolina, purchased firearms from federally licensed dealers in the state, falsely stating they were buying for personal use.

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These firearms were then transferred to Bond, Shaw, and others involved in the trafficking operation. The ATF began their investigation in September 2019 after multiple firearms from North Carolina were traced back to crime scenes in Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas.

11-Year Prison Sentence for Man Behind Illegal Gun Trafficking Scheme

The investigation revealed that Bond had introduced Bazemore and Rodgers to Shaw and others in Washington, D.C., helping to expand the illegal firearm operation. Bond and Shaw reimbursed Bazemore and Rodgers for the firearms and also compensated them for their participation in the scheme.

On January 24, 2023, ATF agents went to Bond’s apartment in Greenville to serve a federal arrest warrant in connection with the gun trafficking conspiracy. As agents approached the front door, they saw Bond exiting the rear of the apartment and placing items on the back porch.

When they searched the apartment, they found 731 grams of cocaine, 33 grams of cocaine base, 64 grams of fentanyl, three firearms, ammunition, and other drug paraphernalia.

Barron Shaw, who was also involved in firearms trafficking, was sentenced to 48 months in prison on September 8, 2023, for dealing firearms without a license.

Malik Bazemore was sentenced to 24 months on September 18, 2024, for his role in dealing firearms without a license and for making false statements to federally licensed firearms dealers. Ti’quiran Rodgers received a 24-month sentence on November 7, 2024, for similar offences.

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