A Boston man was handed down a 21-month prison sentence for his role in a firearm trafficking conspiracy that shuttled guns from Alabama to Massachusetts. According to a statement from the Department of Justice, Kobe Smith, 25, will also face three years of supervised release following his prison term.
Sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV, Smith had earlier pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to illegally transport firearms. Smith had been charged along with Jahquel Pringle, Jarmori Brown and Brandon Moore by a federal grand jury in July 2022. After making arrangements with Smith, Moore personally delivered at least one firearm to Pringle in Boston in January 2020. Moore, living in Alabama, facilitated the supply of guns, fulfilling orders placed by Smith. Two trips were made to Alabama by Pringle, and for one of those trips, he was joined by Brown, where firearms were obtained and then smuggled concealed in luggage back to Boston.
Seven of these firearms have been seized from the streets in the Boston area. Earlier, Brown was sentenced to 18 months of incarceration and three years of supervised release. Meanwhile, Moore received the same sentence in the Middle District of Alabama in May 2024. Pringle, facing a significantly longer term, was sentenced to 42 months in prison and three years of supervised release just last month.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a national initiative led by the Department of Justice. PSN aims to bring together law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve in order to reduce violence and improve neighborhood safety for all. The Department of Justice underlined these efforts on its website, emphasizing the 2021 strategy to advance PSN by fostering community trust, supporting organizations that prevent violence, strategically setting focused enforcement priorities and measuring the consequential results.
