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REDACTED AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF ARREST WARRANT AND

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I, Christopher Scott, being duly sworn, hereby depose a na

state that: 1. I am a Special Agent with the Bureau of Alcohol,

Tobacco, Firearms

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Explosives (ATF) , and h a v e been so employed

since August 10, 2002.

I am responsible for investigating

violations of the Gun Control A c t and the National Firearms Act.

2. Fxom 1997 to 2002, I was previously employed as a

United S t a t e s Border Patrol Agent.

I was responsible for

investigating violations, and apprehending violators, of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Controlled Substances Act. 3 . I am a graduate of the ten-week Criminal Investigator

Training Program and the thirteen-week ATF New Professional Training Program (NPT), both held at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. During NPT I received specific training in firearms law, firearms technology, explosives, and methods of investigation, including use of confidential

informants and undercover operations. 4. As a result of my training and experience as a Special

Agent f o r ATP,

1 am

familiar w i t h the Federal firearms laws a n d

know that it is unlawful for an alien unlawfully in the United

States to possess a firearm in or affecting commerce under 18 U.S.C. Section 922 (9).

Further, it is unlawful to knowingly

make a false statement with respect to the i n f o r m a t i o n required

,y C h a p t e r 4 4 , T i t l e 1 8 , United S t a t e s Code, t o be kept i n t h e

: e c o r d s of a person Licensed under Chapter 4 4 ( a F e d e r a l F i r e a r m s l i c e n s e e (FFL)1 during a c q u i s i t i o n of a f i r e a r m u n d e r

.

18 U. S C.

.

S e c t i o n 924 (a)(1)(A)

I t i s a l s o u n l a w f u l f o r two

Dersons t o c o n s p i r e t o commit an o f f e n s e a g a i n s t t h e United states and t o do any a c t t o e f f e c t t h e o b j e c t of t h e conspiracy

lnder 1 8 U.S.C.

Section 371.

5 - The f a c t s s t a t e d i n this a f f i d a v i t ? e r s o n a l knowledge,

are

based on

my

law enforcement r e p o r t s of o t h e r a g e n c i e s

dhich I have reviewed, and upon my c o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h City a n d

Federal Law Enforcement O f f i c e r s ,

coconspirators,

and o t h e r s

dho h a v e p e r s o n a l knowledge of facts p e r t a i n i n g t o t h i s case. This a f f i d a v i t

is being submitted f o r t h e limited purpose

r e c e i v i n g a complaint and a r r e s t w a r r a n t .

I

of

have set f o r t h

only those f a c t s which I b e l i e v e t o be n e c e s s a r y t o e s t a b l i s h

probable c a u s e f o r t h e charges. 6. On November 2, 2005, Jamaican C o n s t a b u l a r y Police

recovered a S m i t h

&

Wesson, model 6906, 9mrn p i s t o l ,

~ C ~ 2 0 8 6i ,n Kingstown, Jamaica.

s/n

ATF records c h e c k s revealed

t h a t t h e f i r e a r m had been purchased o n l y 11 days p r i o r , on October 22, 2005, by J e n n i e Frey of Hampton, V i r g i n i a .

Frey

the above firearm from Superior Pawn Company, an FFL

l o c a t e d a t 104 W . Mercury Blvd, Hampton, Virginia. 7. On February 13, 2006, S p e c i a l Agent Woloszynowski and I

interviewed J e n n i e Frey r e g a r d i n g h e r p u r c h a s e of t h e Smith &

Wesson p i s t o l .

I n i t i a l l y , Frey t o l d m e t h a t t h e f i r e a r m was 2

s t o l e n ; however, s h e soon r e c a n t e d and t o l d m e t h a t she p u r c h a s e d t h e f i r e a r m on b e h a l f o f a man s h e knew only as "Bobby."

Frey t o l d me t h a t , i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e S m i t h

6

Wesson

p i s t o l , s h e had p r e v i o u s l y p u r c h a s e d t h r e e o t h e r p i s t o l s on b e h a l f of "Bobby."

Using i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d by Frey, I was

a b l e t o i d e n t i f y "Bobby" a s Conway Robert Simpson,

XX/XX/XX.

Record c h e c k s showed t h a t Simpson was a n a l i e n who may be u n l a w f u l l y i n t h e United S t a t e s .

Simpson, a c i t i z e n and n a t i v e

of Jamaica, was a d m i t t e d t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s i n O c t o b e r 2 0 0 0

a s a nonimmigrant v i s i t o r .

He was p e r m i t t e d t o r e m a i n i n t h e

U n i t e d S t a t e s for six months b u t o v e r s t a y e d h i s p e r i o d of, admission.

When I showed Frey a p h o t o g r a p h o f Simpson, she

p o s i t i v e l y i d e n t i f i e d Simpson a s t h e man s h e knew as "Bobby." 8. When a s k e d t o d e s c r i b e t h e f i r e a r m s t r a n s a c t i o n s i n

d e t a i l , Frey t o l d me t h a t Simpson had r e c r u i t e d h e r t o p u r c h a s e p i s t o l s f o r him sometime i n 2004, and i n s t r u c t e d hex a s t o w h a t c a l i b e r and b r a n d o f f i r e a r m h e wanted h e r t o p u r c h a s e .

Frey

s t a t e d t h a t Simpson n e v e r t r a v e l e d w i t h h e r t o t h e FFL, but would meet h e r a f t e r t h e p u r c h a s e t o r e t r i e v e t h e f i r e a r m and pay h e r an a d d i t i o n a l $200

-

$250.

Frey s a i d t h a t she

purchased t h e f i r e a r m s for Simpson a t e i t h e r S u p e r i o r Pawn Company o r A & P A r m s , b o t h l o c a t e d i n Hampton, V i r g i n i a . 9 . I n s e a r c h i n g r e c o r d s a t S u p e r i o r Pawn a n d A & P Arms,

was d e t e r m i n e d t h a t Frey p u r c h a s e d t h e f o l l o w i n g pistols t h s h e l a t e r t o l d m e s h e purchased a t t h e request of Simpson a n d gave t o Simpson a f t e r t h e p u r c h a s e : 3

6/15/04

-

Highpoint, Model 45, .45 caliber pistol,

s/n X414883. 8/18/04

- Highpoint, Model YCP,

.40 caliber pistol,

s/n X714750. 11/15/04

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Ruger, Model P95, 9mm pistol, s/n 315-

27564. 10. Frey stated that, on October 22, 2005, Simpson zelephoned her from XXX-XXX-8364 and instructed her to purchase 3

firearm for him.

Simpson told Frey that he was out of

Jirginia but would send her money via Western Union so she zould purchase the firearm. Simpson told Frey that he would

arrive in Virginia on October 23 or 24 to meet with her, retrieve the firearm, and pay her an additional $250. Frey nlso told me that she collected $400 from a Western Union terminal, traveled to Superior Pawn Company, and purchased the smith

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Wesson pistol, s/n TCL2086.

During the purchase of the

firearm, Frey completed the ATF Form 4473, a firearms :ransaction record that helps to determine if the buyer is ?rohibited from possessing firearms.

1 later reviewed the ATF

Form 4473 that Frey completed and noted that Frey answered " Y e s J Cto

question # lla which asks the buyer, "Are you the

nctual buyer of the firearm listed on this form? WARNING:

You

are not the actual buyer if you are acquiting the firearm on ~ehalfof another person."

On or about October 23, 2005, Frey

net with Simpson and gave him the firearm.

11. 1 l a t e r r e c e i v e d r e c o r d s p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e Western

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Union money t r a n s f e r a n d t h e c e l l u l a r t e l e p h o n e n u m b e r Simpson

3

used t o c o n t a c t Frey.

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$400 m o n e y t r a n s f e r s e n t from Simpson t o F r e y on O c t o b e r 22,

5

2005,

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The sender l i s t e d h i s name a s P a u l Whyte, XXX XX St, C l e v e l a n d ,

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Ohio, h a v i n g t h e same t e l e p h o n e number t h a t Sirnpson used to

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c o n t a c t F r e y , XXX-XXX-8364.

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Western Union r e c o r d s i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e

o r i g i n a t e d from 15237 E u c l i d Avenue, C l e v e l a n d , Ohio.

12. S p r i n t t e l e p h o n e r e c o r d s i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e r e g i s t e r e d

x xxx

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a c c o u n t h o l d e r of XXX-XXX-8364 was P a t i n a Davis,

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S t , C l e v e l a n d , Ohio.

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t e l e p h o n e c a l l s were made t o F r e y o n t h e d a y s h e purchased the

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firearm.

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t e l e p h o n e was l o c a t e d i n New C a s t l e , P e n n s y l v a n i a ,

IS

2 2 , 2005.

16

XXX

C a l l d e t a i l records confirmed that

A d d i t i o n a l l y , r o a m i n g d e t a i l i n d i c a t e d t h a t the

13. S p e c i a l A g e n t s from t h e C l e v e l a n d , Ohio,

on October

Field Office

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d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e a d d r e s s p r o v i d e d b y t h e s e n d e r of t h e

18

W e s t e r n Union money t r a n s f e r was a f i c t i t i o u s address t h a t did

19

not exist.

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b u t were u n s u c c e s s f u l .

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t h e Western Union t e r m i n a l i n C l e v e l a n d , Ohio, t h e employee

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i d e n t i f i e d Simpson v i a p h o t o g r a p h as a c u s t o m e r w h o frequents

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h i s c o n v e n i e n c e s t o r e often.

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F u r t h e r , a g e n t s a t t e m p t e d t o i d e n t i f y P a u l Whyte When a g e n t s c o n t a c t e d a n e m p l o y e e of

1 4 . S p e c i a l A g e n t s f r o m t h e C l e v e l a n d , Ohio,

F i e l d Office

a l s o i n t e r v i e w e d P a t i n a Davis a t h e r g i v e n a d d r e s s .

When

a g e n t s showed D a v i s a p h o t o g r a p h o f Simpson, s h e said t h a t 5

; i m p s o n was h e r ex-boyfriend,

b u t t h e two no l o n g e r dated.

l o r e o v e r , Davis s a i d t h a t , w h i l e s h e and Simpson were d a t i n g ,

she bought Simpson a c e l l u l a r t e l e p h o n e .

Eventually, the

z e l l u l a r t e l e p h o n e a c c o u n t was d e a c t i v a t e d f o r nonpayment. j o w e v e r , u s i n g D a v i s ' s name and l a s t f o u r d i g i t s of her s o c i a l

security number, Simpson r e a c t i v a t e d t h e a c c o u n t a f t e r p a y i n g t h e a m o u n t due, a c c o r d i n g t o Davis.

When t h e a c c o u n t was

r e a c t i v a t e d , Simpson o b t a i n e d a d i f f e r e n t c e l l u l a r t e l e p h o n e

?umber. 15. S p e c i a l Agent T e r e s a Merhige, an i n t e r s t a t e nexus

expert w i t h a p p r o x i m a t e l y 18 y e a r s i n v e s t i g a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e , d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e Smith

&

Wesson, model 6906, 9mm p i s t o l ,

TCL208 6, was manufactured i n M a s s a c h u s e t t s .

s/n

B e c a u s e the

f i r e a r m was s o l d i n V i r g i n i a , i t had been t r a n s p o r t e d i n , and a f f e c t e d , i n t e r s t a t e commerce. 16. A check o f t h e ATF l i c e n s i n g d a t a b a s e i n d i c a t e d t h a t

Superior Pawn Company is a F e d e r a l f i r e a r m s l i c e n s e e .

Superior

pawn Company h a s FFL number 154650029C01459 and has been l i c e n s e d a s a n FFL s i n c e February 2003.

T h i s FFL was most

r e c e n t l y renewed i n February 2006. 1 7 . Based on my t r a i n i n g and e x p e r i e n c e ,

I know that

f i r e a m t r a f f i c k e r s w i l l o f t e n u t i l i z e o t h e r s t o purchase f i r e a r m s on t h e i r b e h a l f .

Likewise, d u r i n g t h e p u r c h a s e of t h e

f i r e a r m , t h e purchaser f a l s e l y i n d i c a t e s o n ATF Form 4 4 7 3 they a r e t h e b u y e r of the f i r e a r m when, i n f a c t , t h e f i r e a r m i s actually f o r t h e firearm t r a f f i c k e r .

Firearm t r a f f i c k e r s

j t i l i z e o t h e r s t o p u r c h a s e f i r e a r m s in o r d e r t o c o n c e a l the i d e n t i t y of t h e a c t u a l f i r e a r m owner a n d t o deflect suspicion from t h e m s e l v e s s h o u l d t h e f i r e a r m s e r i a l number be t r a c e d b y law e n f o r c e m e n t .

A d d i t i o n a l l y , f i r e a r m t r a f f i c k e r s a r e often

t h e m s e l v e s p ~ o h i b i t e df r o m p o s s e s s i n g f i r e a r m s . 18. Based o n my t r a i n i n g a n d e x p e r i e n c e ,

I a l s o know t h a t

o r o h i b i t e d people w i l l utilize o t h e r s t o p u r c h a s e f i r e a r m s o n their behalf.

T h i s i s because p r o h i b i t e d p e o p l e know t h a t they

s i l l f a i l t h e b a c k g r o u n d c h e c k r e q u i r e d by F e d e r a l l a w if t h e y a t t e m p t t o p u r c h a s e t h e firearm t h e m s e l v e s .

B e c a u s e i t appears

S i m p s o n was an a l i e n u n l a w f u l l y p r e s e n t i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , he s h o u l d have f a i l e d t h e b a c k g r o u n d c h e c k h a d h e a t t e m p t e d to purchase t h e firearm himself. ~ a s e don t h e f o r e g o i n g f a c t s , I c o n c l u d e there i s probable c a u s e t o b e l i e v e t h a t Conway S i m p s o n v i o l a t e d t h e p r o v i s i o n s of

18 u . s . C .

S e c t i o n s 9 2 4 ( a I ( l ) ( A ) , 2 , a n d 371.

I respectfully

r e q u e s t t h a t a n a r r e s t w a r r a n t be i s s u e d .

AT!? S p e c i a l Agent

Scott W . Putney Assistant United S t a t e s Attorney