Federal prosecutors say a Bronx man quietly turned Interstate 95 into his personal gun pipeline, hauling more than 100 firearms into New York City before the feds finally shut him down.
Edson Brown, 37, of the Bronx, pleaded guilty Monday to an 18-count federal indictment accusing him of funneling over 100 guns into the city, prosecutors said. According to court filings, Brown made repeated trips to North Carolina and South Carolina between July 2023 and February 2025, buying roughly 118 firearms from licensed dealers, then transporting them back to New York for resale. Prosecutors say he used at least two straw purchasers, sometimes even impersonating them, and that he removed serial numbers from many of the weapons. So far, investigators have recovered only seven of those guns.
In a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, federal prosecutors said Brown entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan and admitted that he split his purchases between the two states, with about 53 guns bought in North Carolina and about 65 in South Carolina. The office said the scheme involved more than a dozen trips and at least two straw purchasers who bought guns from federal firearms licensees, then turned them over to Brown for resale in New York.
How prosecutors say the operation worked
"New Yorkers want criminals who use guns off our streets, there is no place for them in New York," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in the release. Prosecutors say Brown sometimes traveled to the Carolinas himself, used another person’s identification to buy firearms, then brought the guns back to New York and sold them, according to court filings.
Where the guns came from
Investigators say Brown’s alleged route fits a familiar pattern for the city. For years, officials have said many illegal guns used in New York crimes are purchased out of state, then smuggled back up the East Coast. A Local Law 90 report lists North Carolina and South Carolina among the out-of-state sources most commonly tied to crime guns recovered in the city.
Charges and penalties
Brown pleaded guilty to an 18-count superseding indictment that includes conspiracy to traffic firearms, firearms trafficking, unlicensed dealing of firearms, and multiple counts of unlicensed transportation. Prosecutors say those counts carry statutory maximum sentences that go up to 15 years for trafficking and conspiracy, with additional penalties attached to other charges. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, sentencing will be scheduled at a later date, and the case is being handled by the office’s Violent Organizations and Crime Unit.
Investigators say many guns remain missing
So far, investigators have recovered seven of the weapons. The NYPD firearms lab was able to restore serial numbers on six of those guns, which allowed agents to trace them back to purchases in the Carolinas. As PIX11 reported, prosecutors say more than 100 of the trafficked guns are still missing or cannot be traced because their serial numbers were obliterated.
Federal authorities credited the ATF and the NYPD for their work on the case and said the prosecution shows how law enforcement is trying to choke off the interstate gun pipeline that feeds street violence in New York. The prosecution is being led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Jones and Joseph H. Rosenberg, and Brown will be sentenced at a later date, according to court filings.
