4 charged in federal court with selling ghost guns in Brooklyn

January 21, 2023 Rob Abruzzese

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

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Four people were charged in the Eastern District federal court on Jan. 11 with allegedly conspiring to illegally traffic more than 50 guns. Two of the defendants were also charged with cocaine possession with intent to distribute, and one was charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

David McCann, a 28-year-old-from Brooklyn, Raymond Minaya, a 26-year-old from Brooklyn, Tajhai Jones, a 28-year-old from Virginia, and Calvin Tabron, a 25-year-old from Virginia were all charged with gun trafficking. McCann and Minaya were charged with the cocaine possession, and McCann with the fentanyl possession.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that these men were allegedly bringing untraceable ghost guns into Brooklyn and New York City. This is the first time in New York that prosecutors are charged with the gun trafficking provisions of the bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

“As alleged, the defendants are responsible for attempting to flood the streets of Brooklyn with over 50 deadly weapons, including ghost guns, as well as narcotics, feeding the cycles of gun violence and drug abuse,” stated U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. “As the first prosecution utilizing new federal legislation in New York, and one of the first in the country, these arrests demonstrate this Office’s commitment to utilize all tools available to more effectively stop gun traffickers from endangering our community.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the four defendants allegedly sold at least 50 guns in Brooklyn between Jan. 2022 and Aug. 2022 from the back of their car outside of the Breukelen Houses in Canarsie.

The two defendants from Virginia were allegedly getting the guns and bringing them to New York where they were sold in Brooklyn with defaced serial numbers. Some of the guns were made from ghost gun kits.

Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable that are often purchased online and assembled at home. These kits are easily purchased by anyone online because there are no background checks done at all. They can also be purchased without a background check at most gun shows.