Torrie Johnson, Firearms Trafficking, New York 2020

A South Carolina man has been sentenced to 78 months in prison for his role in trafficking 25 handguns into New York City. Torrie Johnson, 42, of Sumter, South Carolina, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court to 78 months in prison for his crimes.

According to the allegations set forth in the Complaint, the Indictment, and the Superseding Information filed against Johnson in Manhattan federal court, Johnson sold firearms to an undercover New York City Police Department detective on at least five occasions between January 23, 2019, and May 9, 2019. The sales took place in Manhattan and the Bronx, and included a variety of 9 millimeter, .32, .38, .40, .45, and .380 caliber pistols and revolvers, as well as hundreds of rounds of assorted ammunition.

Johnson purchased the firearms in South Carolina, and transported them to New York City for the purpose of selling them here. On at least two occasions, the undercover detective specifically told Johnson that the UC was planning to transport at least some of the firearms that Johnson had sold to the UC to a foreign country, and resell them there for a profit. Johnson told the UC that he was attempting to obtain for sale to the UC a Century Arms Mini Draco AK-47 semi-automatic pistol.

Johnson’s crimes were discovered after he was arrested in May 2019 and charged with firearms trafficking. He pleaded guilty to one count of firearms trafficking in January 2020 and was sentenced to 78 months in prison by United States District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald. In addition to his prison term, Johnson was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the NYPD, and the Joint Firearms Task Force in bringing Johnson to justice.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit, with Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Woodside Schrier in charge of the prosecution.

Torrie Johnson, 42, of Sumter, South Carolina, was charged with one count of firearms trafficking. He was sentenced to 78 months in prison and three years of supervised release.