South Jersey Convicted Felon Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Role in Conspiracy to Traffic Guns from South Carolina to New Jersey

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Lawnside, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for illegally possessing firearms and selling 22 guns without a license, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Anthony Gilmore, a/k/a “Tone,” 25, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to deal firearms without a license and one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. Judge Bumb imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Between April 8, 2013, and July 8, 2014, Gilmore conspired with four others to sell 22 firearms on several occasions, for profit and without a license. The 22 firearms included handguns, shotguns and an assault rifle. Gilmore personally sold or participated in the sale of at least seven firearms, including handguns and shotguns, as well as a bullet-proof vest, to a witness cooperating with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Gilmore’s conspirators obtained the firearms in South Carolina and brought them to New Jersey on a weekly basis, at times using Amtrak to transport the guns. On two occasions, Gilmore sold a firearm to the cooperating witness along with ammunition. All 22 weapons are now in the custody of law enforcement.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Bumb sentenced Gilmore to serve three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George P. Belsky Jr. in Newark, New Jersey, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked special agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, as well as officers from the Winslow Township and Clementon police departments, for their work in the case.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.

15-145 ### Defense counsel: Assistant Federal Public Defender Christopher O’Malley Esq., Camden