Four people, including three Central New York men, have been indicted and charged with 35 crimes related to their participation in a gun trafficking operation. An investigation led by the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) recovered 31 firearms and receivers, including 18 ghost guns or parts used to make ghost guns, dozens of high-capacity magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Two indictments charge the four defendants with various crimes, including felony counts of Criminal Possession and Criminal Sale of a Firearm.
The takedown was the result of a joint investigation between OCTF and the NYSP Community Stabilization Unit, with assistance from the NYSP Special Investigations Unit’s Rochester and Syracuse offices and the Syracuse Police Department. The investigation included law enforcement subpoenas, covert physical surveillance, the use of undercover investigators, and other intelligence-gathering techniques in combination with overt proactive law enforcement activities, including identified citizen encounters.
The investigation is part of a continuing multifaceted operation designed to recover unregistered, untraceable firearms in the wake of legislation enacted in New York in 2021 to crack down on the possession and sale of unregistered and unserialized firearms, or ghost guns, and their component parts. In June 2022, the OCTF investigative team began an investigation into two sources of illegal firearms trafficking, including ghost guns, in the Syracuse area.
Over the course of the investigation, authorities seized the following firearms and components:
- Nine Polymer80 and AR-15 style unfinished frames/receivers, used to assemble ghost guns
- Nine unserialized and unregistered Polymer80 ghost gun pistols
- Nine serialized unregistered firearms
- Three AR-15-style rifles
- One 7.62 assault rifle
- Dozens of magazines, including several extended magazines classified as high-capacity ammunition feeding devices
- Hundreds of rounds of ammunition
The four individuals who were charged with various counts of Criminal Possession and Criminal Sale of a Firearm (class B, C and D felonies) for their involvement in the firearms trafficking operation are:
- Charles Baker, 26 years old, Brewerton, New York
- Jeremy Baker, a/k/a “Rico,” 23 years old, Syracuse, New York
- Brian Lawson, a/k/a “P’Nut,” 23 years old, South Carolina
- John Leone, Jr., 52 years old, Elbridge, New York
Indictment One
The first indictment outlines the activities of Lawson and both Bakers. Lawson is charged with Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree for allegedly selling three or more firearms in a period of less than one year. Lawson allegedly obtained the firearms he sold from the Bakers, who are also charged with several offenses relating to illegal firearms sales and possession. During the course of the investigation, OCTF detectives recovered numerous firearms alleged to have been sold by Lawson and the Bakers, including Polymer80 9mm pistols with no serial numbers.
Indictment Two
The second indictment outlines the activities of John Leone, Jr., who is charged in a 21-count indictment with Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree and other felony firearms offenses. Throughout that investigation, OCTF detectives recovered three Polymer80 9mm Luger pistols with no serial numbers and an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 semiautomatic rifle assault weapon with a 7 ¾ inch barrel, all alleged to have been sold by Leone in Elbridge.
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