Man Gets 18 Years For Running Georgia-To-New York Gun Ring
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The leader of an illegal Georgia-to-New York gun ring was sentenced to 18 years in prison Thursday, after being convicted of selling 151 weapons to an undercover officer in Brooklyn in a period of seven months.
In all, Michael Quick, of LaGrange, Georgia, sold $126,000 worth of weapons -- such as an AR-15 assault rifle and semiautomatic pistols, officials said. In one instance, he sold 25 firearms packed in a suitcase for $20,000, representing the biggest single illegal buy in NYPD history, officials said.
``This harsh prison sentence reflects our determination to bring to justice out-of-state firearms traffickers who use lax gun laws down south to flood our city with guns,'' Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said in a statement.
Four others charged in the conspiracy, including Quick's wife and other family members, have pleaded guilty to lesser charges. A sixth defendant's case is pending.
An attorney for Quick, who earlier this month pleaded guilty to weapons charges, didn't return messages Thursday.
Quick traveled 13 times by car up the Interstate 95 corridor between September 2013 and April 2014 to sell handguns and other weapons either stolen or bought in Georgia stores to an undercover NYPD officer on a street corner in Canarsie, Brooklyn, Thompson said.
The business was lucrative.
Quick marked up the price of handguns five-fold, selling a $200 9-mm bought in Georgia for $1,000 to the undercover in Brooklyn, Thompson said. And the average price of a handgun was $800, police officials said in announcing Quick's arrest last April.
The investigation was prompted by a tip from community members in Brooklyn, police have said.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)