A Columbus man, known on the streets as “Lou,” is set to spend up to two decades behind bars after pleading guilty to supplying local gangs with stolen firearms. Joshua Holland, 24, admitted to swiping guns from pawn shops and selling them on to rival factions stirring violence in the area. His two cronies, James David Lowery and Jerry Starks, also admitted guilt to conspiracy charges. The three men face hefty fines alongside their potential prison sentences.
The guilty pleas, entered late last February, mark a win for law enforcement's ongoing battle against gun trafficking. "Our office has zero tolerance for individuals caught supplying violent criminal organizations with firearms," U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary was quoted by the U.S. Attorney's Office press release. In an effort to comprehensively tackle this issue, all levels of law enforcement have banded together, pooling resources and intelligence to swiftly bring perpetrators like Holland and his associates to justice.
Holland's spree of burglaries last year saw him and various accomplices breaking into Money Mizer Pawn on two separate occasions and A Better Pawn to loot firearms. They wreaked havoc with tactics like ramming a stolen car through the Money Mizer storefront to grab their loot. Holland and his gang's escapades ended with their arrest by the Phenix City Police Department after a burglary in Alabama.
The investigation was a concerted effort by the Columbus and Phenix City police departments, aided by the ATF. Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka has previously stressed that "The unlawful acquisition and selling of firearms are serious crimes that feed and intensify the violence that plagues so many communities," in a sentiment precisely echoed by the aftermath of Holland's burglaries. This case falls under the influential wing of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), aiming to make a safer community through strategic enforcement and strong community-law enforcement partnerships.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Williams leads the charge in prosecuting Holland and his accomplices, representing the government's unwavering stance against the perpetuation of violence on the streets. No sentencing date has been set yet, but Judge Clay Land, who presided over the guilty pleas, will announce them in due course. Though they've taken a few out of circulation, authorities continue their relentless pursuit of gun traffickers and their illicit networks, knowing that each firearm recovered could mean one less life exposed to the barrel's dangerous promise.
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