Couple Pleads Guilty to Trafficking 26 Firearms
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Woodbridge couple has pleaded guilty to illegally trafficking at least 26 firearms.
According to court documents, Cornelius Maurice King. Jr., 25, and Yeakain Yabu Koroma, 26, worked together to buy dozens of firearms and then resell them to third parties to turn a profit. In total, between January and June 2018, King and Koroma resold 26 firearms. Neither King nor Koroma were licensed to sell firearms.
Koroma pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of engaging in the dealing of firearms without a license and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced on Feb. 7, 2020. King pleaded guilty on October 18 to the same charge and will be sentenced on Jan. 31, 2020. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III accepted the plea. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony W. Mariano and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia T. Giles are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:19-cr-315 and 1:19-cr-327.
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