Arkansas man arrested for selling guns in Brooklyn over Facebook

November 3, 2022 Rob Abruzzese

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, more informally known as Brooklyn Federal Court, in Downtown Brooklyn. Photo: Rob Abruzzese

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The long-arm of the Eastern District of New York extends all the way to Arkansas as a 44-year-old man from Little Rock was indicted on Wednesday and charged with selling guns in Brooklyn and the rest of New York City.

Kyler Booker was allegedly a straw gun buyer, who purchased at least 137 guns from dealers in Arkansas from December 2019 through September 2021 and distributed them throughout New York City, according to prosecutors. So far, 13 firearms that were illegally acquired and distributed by Booker have been recovered by law enforcement.

Booker was arrested and arraigned in Arkansas on Wednesday. He’ll be moved to Brooklyn at a later date.

“Today’s arrest stops one bad actor who illegally purchased at least 137 guns, funneling many into our community including putting firearms in the hands of minors and a convicted criminal,” stated U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. “While 13 guns have been recovered from across all five boroughs of New York City, as is the unfortunate side effect of the gun violence epidemic, many more of the defendant’s firearms may still be out there.”

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of NY Breon Peace. AP Photo/John Minchillo

Booker purchased the 137 guns in 26 different purchases and many of the guns were 9-millimeter pistols, according to prosecutors.

Brooker fraudulently signed affirmations that he was the actual buyer of the guns, but instead he conspired to sell them to NYC customers he communicated with using Facebook, prosecutors alleged.

Out of the 137 guns, only 13 were recovered. Eight of the recovered guns were found in Brooklyn, 12 were loaded, two were recovered “from or near a minor”, and seven were recovered when a party bus was stopped for traffic violations.

Booker faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for each of the false statement counts and a maximum of five years for the conspiracy charge.