Gabriel Gispert-Poe, Unlicensed Firearm Sales, North Carolina 2021

A brazen gun trafficking operation has been dismantled after a North Carolina man pleaded guilty to selling firearms without a license in federal court in Boston.

Gabriel Gispert-Poe, 24, of Hope Mills, N.C., was charged on August 6, 2021, with engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for January 25, 2022.

According to investigators, Gispert-Poe acquired firearms in North Carolina from straw buyers or other sources in 2019 and 2020. He then sold these firearms to Chiweze Ihunwo at a profit. Ihunwo, who also pleaded guilty to firearms trafficking, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 8, 2021.

The gun trafficking operation involved Gispert-Poe and Ihunwo communicating by phone regarding the proposed acquisition and subsequent resale of firearms. Ihunwo transported the firearms he obtained from Gispert-Poe to Massachusetts and offered them for resale, including through social media.

The charge of dealing in firearms without a license carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives made the announcement. Assistance was provided by the Randolph Police Department.

Gispert-Poe’s guilty plea marks a significant blow to the gun trafficking operation, which posed a significant threat to public safety in Massachusetts. The case serves as a reminder of the importance of effective law enforcement in combating gun violence and keeping communities safe.

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