Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell announced that a 23-year-old man has been charged with hundreds of counts of criminally selling a firearm, criminal possession of a firearm and related charges for trafficking 73 weapons and high capacity magazines to the Bronx and Manhattan, where they were sold to an undercover NYPD officer.

 

Clark said the defendant allegedly brought semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines up from the south of the country, sometimes transporting them in a duffle bag by bus. Dozens of the firearms were loaded, and four were considered assault weapons. Officials from the District Attorney’s office said the NYPD worked diligently to intercept the weapons before they hit Bronx streets. “Bronxites are dying from gunfire, and we cannot tolerate one more illegal gun in our community” Clark said.

 

Meanwhile, Sewell said stopping traffickers who flood the City’s streets with illegal guns was a mission, critical to the work of te NYPD in terms of smashing the so-called iron pipeline. “The NYPD’s officers, working with their prosecutorial partners in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, are the first line of defense in protecting our residents, our families, and our children from the scourge of gun violence, and I commend their work in this important case,” she said.

 

Clark said the defendant, Shakor Rodriguez, 23, originally from the Bronx, who was attending Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, was charged in two indictments, totaling 304 counts. She said he was arraigned Jan. 24,  on 79 counts, including criminal sale of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, and possession of ammunition before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Albert Lorenzo. Clark said Rodriguez was remanded in custody. On Dec. 23, 2021, Rodriguez had been arraigned before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Efrain Alvarado on 225 counts, including criminal sale of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon, conspiracy and criminal possession of a firearm.

 

News of the indictment comes amid Mayor Eric Adams’ announcement on Monday of his “Blueprint to End Gun Violence” in New York City, and follows a roundtable discussion held at a public school in Bedford Park on Saturday, Jan. 22, with crisis management teams and violence interrupters, and after a spate of high-profile police and civilian shootings which have taken place since he took office. They include, as reported, the shooting of an 11-month-old baby girl in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx on Wednesday, Jan. 19.

 

According to the investigation by the NYPD Firearms Investigations Unit and the Bronx District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau dubbed, “Operation Overnight Express,” between July 17, 2020 and December 22, 2021, in the Bronx and Manhattan, Rodriguez, also known as “Sha,” allegedly sold an undercover officer 73 firearms, of which 59 were loaded, as well as over 40 high capacity magazines, including multiple “drum” magazines. The undercover officer paid typically between $1,000 and $1,500 per gun.

 

According to the investigation, the defendant sold most of the weapons near his former home in the vicinity of Weeks Avenue and Nelson Avenue in the Mt Hope section of the Bronx, and multiple sales occurred on Allen Street in Manhattan. The investigation is continuing into how he obtained the guns and where they were purchased. The investigation found the defendant transported guns in duffle bags, and in some instances, he traveled with them by bus.

 

Norwood News reached out to Austin Peay State University for comment. A representative confirmed that Rodriguez was enrolled for the spring semester at Austin Peay. However, the representative said the university couldn’t comment on an active investigation or on student disciplinary matters.

 

According to the Tennessee government website, effective Jan. 1, 2020, an enhanced handgun permit allows open or concealed carry, while a concealed permit allows concealed carry only. There are also separate options for temporary gun licenses and those for former and current law enforcement officials and other licensed owners.

 

According to the government website, the state restricts firearms like machine guns and antique weapons, except for officers of the law, military members, and federally licensed owners.

We asked representatives of the university if, aside from the state laws, if it had its own policy on the carrying of guns on campus, and if there is a metal detector which people have to go through to access the campus. We did not receive an immediate response but will update this story, should we receive any additional information.

 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Melanie Smith, Shavonn Bennette, and Elliott Hamilton, under the supervision of William Zelenka, Senior Investigative Assistant District Attorney; Jonathan Abramovitz, supervisor  in the Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau, Ronald Sannicandro, deputy bureau chief of the Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau, and Julie Trivedi, bureau chief of the Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau, and under the overall supervision of Denise Kodjo, deputy chief of the Investigations Division, and Wanda Perez-Maldonado, chief of the Investigations Division.

 

Clark thanked the NYPD’s Firearms Investigations Unit for their work in the investigation, specifically Detective Gustavo Medina, Sergeant Brian O’Hanlon, Lieutenant Michael Raso, Captain Jeffrey Heilig and Inspector Brian Gill.

 

A person who has been charged with a crime is innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

Rodriguez is due back in court January 31, 2022.