Two men charged with numerous sales of illegal firearms in five month long joint investigation with NYPD
District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced that two Bronx residents have been indicted for allegedly selling hand-guns and assault rifles to undercover New York City Police Detectives on 10 occasions during a five month period in 2009. The investigation was initiated as a result of information obtained by the NYPD Firearms Investigation Unit.
The grand jury charged Gabriel Sosa of 1420 Washington Avenue, with a total of 21 counts of criminal sale of a firearm in the 1st and 3rd degrees and criminal possession of a weapon in the 2nd and 3rd degrees.
Dominic Nesby, also of 1420 Washing-ton Avenue, was indicted on four counts of criminal sale of a firearm in the 3rd degree and one count each of criminal possession of a weapon in the 2nd and 3rd degrees.
The charges in this indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Sosa is facing a sentence of up to 25 years of imprisonment if convicted of the most serious offense, Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the 1st degree. Sosa and Nesby are also facing a maximum term of up to seveb years imprisonment on each count if convicted of criminal sale of a firearm in the 3rd degree. The defendants are also facing up to seven years imprisonment on each count If convicted of criminal pos-session of a weapon in the 3rd degree. If convicted of criminal possession of a weapon in the 2nd degree, Sosa and Nesby would be facing a maximum sen-tence of up to 15 years imprisonment on each count. Nesby has been charged with acting-in-concert with Sosa in four of the illegal gun sales to undercover police officers.
Sosa was arraigned before State Su-preme Court Justice Joseph Dawson who ordered that the defendant be held with-out bail. Nesby is currently being held on $25,000 bond or $7,500 cash bail, and is scheduled to be arraigned on the indict-ment on March 8, 2010 in Part A.
All but one gun sale took place in a parked car in front of the defendants’ residence on Washington Avenue. Sev-eral of the transactions were captured on video. The first of the illegal sales oc-curred on March 24, 2009. The last sale was made on July 14, 2009. The under-cover detectives paid a total of $9,600 for 2 assault rifles and 9 handguns.
The case is being prosecuted by As-sistant District Attorney Robert Caliendo of the Rackets Bureau.
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