Houston, Texas (TDN) -- Tyrone Reid 22 was today sentenced in Houston to 14 years in prison for sending guns bought in Texas to the US Virgin Islands.
Reid who is a citizen of Dominica was sentenced by a federal judge following his arrest by agents of the Alchohol Firearms and Tobago (ATF) in May 2012 and his conviction by a jury in February of this year on four of six charges filed against him.
,p>During the trial, the court heard that Reid used a number of straw buyers to purchase the guns on his behalf. The court was told that Reid would induce buyers to pretend that the guns were theirs ands as soon as it was bought, he would take possession.
Prosecutors further revealed that Reid received more than $60 000 over a period of time from the US Virgin Islands via Western Union, which was then used to purchase the guns. Evidence presented at trial demonstrated that a total of seven firearms were seized by agents in the Virgin Islands, six of which were seized from crime scenes, including a homicide. Two other firearms linked to Reid were found in New Jersey crime scenes, including an aggravated armed robbery.
Police also seized three of the firearms from the home of one of Reid’s associates in Houston. In all, 30 guns were said to be involved in the conspiracy including a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, two Century Arms 7.62 caliber pistols, two Glocks – one a .37 caliber and one a .45 caliber – two Hi-Point .45 caliber pistols, among others.
The highlight of the case came when Reid’s grandmother who traveled from the Virgin Islands to testify as a government witness told the court that Reid had sent guns to her in the Virgin Islands. Reid then took the stand in his own defense calling his grandmother a liar.
It took the jury just two hours to return a guilty verdict following the three day trial. Reid could have faced a maximum of 20 years in prison.
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