TYLER, Texas – A brazen scheme to skirt federal gun laws has landed one East Texas woman in federal prison, and another is awaiting her fate. Lucretia Beth Brown, 45, of Yantis, Texas, received a 24-month sentence from U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis after pleading guilty to conspiracy to deal firearms without recording, and failing to keep records. The case exposes a network of illegal gun sales stretching across multiple states.
The trouble began to surface in November 2011 when federal agents raided the home and business of Brown and her co-defendant, Andrea Jaine Burns London, 51, also of Yantis. An indictment followed on July 11, 2012, alleging gun trafficking violations. But the pair didn’t stick around to face the music. They bolted, fleeing the United States for the Philippines in February 2012, triggering an international manhunt.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Marshals Service weren’t about to let them disappear. They enlisted the International Investigations Branch and the Diplomatic Security Service in Manila. On October 9, 2012, Philippine Immigration Agents tracked down and arrested London and Brown in Cebu without incident. The pair were then transported to Manila to begin deportation proceedings, and finally escorted by Philippine agents to Los Angeles on November 8, 2012, where the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force took them into custody.
Court records reveal that between January and July 2011, Brown and London were systematically removing firearms from the inventory of Lake Fork Gunslinger & Outdoors in Emory, Texas. They’d haul the guns to shows in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas, and then sell them off the books – conveniently ignoring the legal requirement to record the buyer’s name, age, and address. This wasn’t a few isolated sales; it was a deliberate operation to profit from untraceable firearms.
In addition to the prison sentence, Brown was ordered to forfeit approximately 140 firearms seized from the dealership’s inventory. London, who pleaded guilty on April 9, 2013, is currently awaiting sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble is prosecuting the case, highlighting the Department of Justice’s commitment to cracking down on illegal gun trafficking.
This case is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, a nationwide program aimed at reducing gun and gang violence. The Eastern District of Texas is focusing on deterring illegal gun possession and improving public safety through collaborative efforts between federal, state, and local law enforcement, and community organizations. The message is clear: moving illegal guns won’t pay, and evading justice across international borders won’t save you.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons|Organized Crime|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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