Brandon Groce Admits to Illegally Selling Firearms in NJ

Brandon Groce, 36, of Newtonville, New Jersey, admitted today to running an illegal gun operation out of a Paulsboro parking lot, selling firearms and ammunition to an undercover buyer on six separate occasions—despite being a convicted felon with five prior felony convictions.

Groce pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler to one count of illegally engaging in the business of dealing in firearms and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He faces up to 10 years in prison on the possession charge and up to five years on the dealing charge, with each count carrying a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 16, 2020.

According to court documents and statements made during the plea, Groce conducted each transaction between February 2019 and September 2019 at a parking lot in Paulsboro, New Jersey. During each meeting, he sold at least one firearm and accompanying ammunition for cash. Groce held no federal license to deal in firearms—a fact federal prosecutors emphasized as central to the charges.

Groce’s criminal history includes convictions in New Jersey Superior Court for a firearms offense, resisting arrest, and three controlled substances offenses. Those convictions legally barred him from possessing or selling firearms, yet he chose to exploit the underground gun market, feeding illegal weapons into communities already plagued by gun violence.

This case was pursued under Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative launched in fall 2019 to strengthen enforcement of federal firearms laws. The program enhances coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement and targets individuals like Groce—prohibited persons who traffic in guns and pose a direct threat to public safety.

The investigation was led by special agents of the Newark Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden is prosecuting the case. For more on Project Guardian, visit justice.gov/projectguardian.