Bisheem Jones, Firearms Trafficking, West Virginia 2020

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Table of Contents

Gun Trafficking Pipeline Shut Down

BECKLEY, W.Va. – A federal grand jury has returned a 19-count indictment charging 13 individuals with conspiracy to traffic over 130 firearms from the Beckley area to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

According to the indictment, from approximately June 2020 to July 2021, Bisheem Jones, also known as ‘Bosh,’ 36, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, recruited individuals to straw purchase firearms on his behalf.

The indictment alleges that Jones, Derrick Woodard, also known as ‘D,’ 26, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Shyheem Woodard-Smith, also known as ‘Peanut’ and ‘Nut,’ 22, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Hassan Abdullah, also known as ‘San,’ 27, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, traveled from Philadelphia to the Beckley area to acquire firearms for the purpose of reselling them for profit in Philadelphia.

Jones, Woodard, Woodard-Smith, and Abdullah are charged with conspiracy to travel interstate with the intent to engage in dealing firearms without a license. They are also charged with traveling interstate with the intent to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without a license.

Defendants Bly, Cohernour, Maurice Johnson, Lacy, Lawhorn, Simon, and Webster are charged with providing false information during the acquisition of firearms at various gun stores in the Beckley area.

The indictment alleges that during the scheme, straw purchasers bought over 130 firearms in or near Beckley and delivered them to others in the conspiracy for transfer to Philadelphia.

Jones is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, alleging that he possessed a Ruger, Model-LC9S, 9-mm pistol on March 11, 2021. Jones is prohibited from possessing a firearm as a result of a 2010 felony conviction for robbery in Pennsylvania.

‘The gun trafficking pipeline through which these defendants were supplying crime guns to Philadelphia has been shut down as a result of this investigation,’ said United States Attorney Will Thompson. ‘We will continue to work with ATF and our state and local law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute gun traffickers and straw purchasers that put guns in the wrong hands and fuel violence in our cities.’

‘One of the ways we accomplish our mission is by identifying sources of crime guns and those who illegally supply firearms used to commit acts of violence,’ said ATF Special Agent in Charge Shawn Morrow of the Louisville Division. ‘Along with our law enforcement partners, we disrupt and dismantle illegal supply networks to keep firearms from being trafficked to places where they may cause harm.’