7^TH STRAW PURCHASER SENTENCED IN FIREARMS TRAFFICKING CASE

          Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney W. WALTER WILKINS stated today that Dantrell Reginald Chatman, age 27, of Newark, New Jersey, was sentenced in federal court today to 6 months home confinement and three years probation. Chatman was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Cameron McGowan Currie after he pled guilty to making a material false statement to a licensed firearms dealer in connection with the purchase of a firearm.

          Evidence showed that ATF agents began an investigation after numerous guns, recovered from various crime scenes by the New York Police Department, were traced and found to have been purchased from firearm stores in Sumter, South Carolina. The investigation revealed that two traffickers recruited and paid the other individuals (“straw purchasers”) to purchase the firearms, which were then transported to New York and sold on the streets. The investigation revealed that Chatman bought one firearm on December 30, 2002, and that same firearm was recovered by police in New York City on December 31, 2002. Nine individuals have been convicted and sentenced in federal court for their role in this firearms trafficking scheme.

          The case was investigated by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as part of Project CeaseFire. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office handled the prosecution of the case.

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