ATLANTA – In a shocking case of gun trafficking, Elijah Isaiah Boykin, a 25-year-old active-duty U.S. Navy Sailor from Palmetto, Georgia, has been charged with conspiring to traffic guns from Georgia to New Jersey.
According to the indictment, Boykin and his former Navy colleague Elijah Keashon Barnes, 21, of Newark, New Jersey, purchased more than two dozen firearms from federally licensed firearms dealers in Georgia and Virginia between April 2020 and August 2020.
The total purchase price exceeded $17,000 and was spread over eight transactions. On each occasion, Boykin signed paperwork stating that he was the actual purchaser of the guns but paid using a credit card belonging to co-defendant Elijah Keashon Barnes.
Local law enforcement in and around Newark, New Jersey began to recover Boykin’s firearms shortly after they were purchased. One pistol was recovered in October 2020, when police officers in Newark conducted a traffic stop and arrested Barnes, who was wanted on a Virginia warrant for domestic assault and battery.
A few months later, Newark police officers recovered another gun that Boykin purchased. Forensic testing linked that second firearm to three separate shootings in Newark, including a violent mugging during which a victim was shot multiple times in the right leg.
To date, at least six firearms purchased by Boykin have been recovered in the city of Newark or a nearby township.
The indictment charges Boykin and Barnes with conspiracy to make false statements, three counts of making false statements to federally licensed firearms dealers, and one count of unlawful transfer of firearm.
The defendants were arrested on August 25, 2021, with Boykin being taken into custody by Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Agents at Naval Air Station Key West, and Barnes was arrested in Newark.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg, Firearms Trafficking Coordinator for the Northern District of Georgia, is prosecuting the case.
Defendant Information:
Defendant Name: Elijah Isaiah Boykin
Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to make false statements, three counts of making false statements to federally licensed firearms dealers, and one count of unlawful transfer of firearm
City and State: Palmetto, Georgia
Date: Multiple dates between April 2020 and August 2020
Sentence or Outcome: Currently pending
Dollar Amounts: $17,000
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Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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