A 37-year-old Portsmouth, Virginia man was sentenced to 150 months in federal prison, while his 32-year-old co-defendant, also of Portsmouth, received 121 months, after both pleaded guilty to trafficking firearms and machine-gun conversion devices into New Jersey. Lawrence Higgs and Tariq Haywood-Echols were each also ordered to serve three years of supervised release once their prison terms end.
The two Virginia men were sentenced to federal prison for trafficking firearms and machine-gun conversion devices, according to U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer, as reported by WRNJ Radio. Higgs was sentenced on September 16 to his 150-month term, while Haywood-Echols was sentenced Tuesday to 121 months. Both men appeared before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch, and both had prior felony convictions.
Guilty Pleas Covered Multiple Federal Firearms Charges
Higgs had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic firearms, engaging in unlicensed firearms dealing, unlawful possession of machine guns and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, per the same report. Haywood-Echols pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic firearms, engaging in unlicensed firearms dealing and unlawful possession of machine guns.
The devices at the center of the case are classified as machine guns under federal law because they can convert semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic weapons capable of firing multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger. That classification made possession of the conversion devices a serious federal offense on top of the underlying firearms-trafficking charges.
Federal law defines a machine gun to include parts designed or intended to convert a weapon into one, making the device itself subject to the machine-gun prohibition even when it is not attached to a firearm. States have added their own restrictions: by January 2025, at least 23 states and the District of Columbia had enacted laws banning possession of conversion devices, as well as the federal prohibition described in this case. The Justice Department’s summary of the federal definition and state laws notes that those state approaches vary.
Investigation Began in 2024, Ended in a Foot Chase
The ATF and state and local law enforcement agencies began investigating Higgs and Haywood-Echols in July 2024. During that investigation, authorities conducted multiple controlled purchases of firearms from the pair, ultimately recovering more than a dozen firearms, more than a dozen machine-gun conversion devices and substantial quantities of ammunition.
The agency cautions that traces are not a random sample and do not represent all firearms used in crime.
Prosecutors said the men sold firearms to an individual they knew was a convicted felon and who intended to resell the weapons. Authorities arrested Higgs and Haywood-Echols on September 10, 2025, as they were attempting to conduct another firearms sale. When officers announced their presence, Higgs fled and was apprehended about a block away with ammunition in his pocket, according to prosecutors.
Multi-Agency Investigation
The investigation was conducted by the ATF Newark Field Division, the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and the New Jersey State Police. The investigation ran from July 2024 through the September 2025 arrests.
