QUEENS, N.Y. - Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz says three Queens residents and a man from Virginia have been arrested in connection with a gun trafficking operation in which dozens of firearms were purchased legally in Virginia but then sold illegally in Queens.
At a press conference Wednesday, 23 firearms were on display at the Queens District Attorney’s Office that Katz says were sold to an undercover police officer with the NYPD’s Firearm Suppression Section between September 23 of last year thru May 28.
The Queens DA says 35-year-old Jessica Heyliger of Jamaica, Queens was the principal dealer of the weapons, with 36-year-old Laquan Benson of Richmond, Virginia, acting as her main supplier.
Katz says two other men who are facing charges acted as a backup and a salesman.
In addition to the guns, the group is alleged to have sold hundreds of rounds of ammunition and more than 10 high capacity magazines to that undercover officer.
One man faces up to 15 years in prison, while Heyliger, Benson, and another defendant face up to 25 years behind bars, if convicted of various charges that include criminal sale of a firearm.
Katz says because the NYPD was in a position to be the highest bidder, she believes the group only sold the illegal firearms to that undercover officer.