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HomeNewsPolice & CourtsNevada Resident Pleads Guilty in Firearms Trafficking Case

Nevada Resident Pleads Guilty in Firearms Trafficking Case

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Las Vegas, Nevada, resident Michael Kelly pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to trafficking firearms in interstate and foreign commerce, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced Tuesday.

According to court documents, on April 16, 2016, Kelly purchased two firearms from a firearms dealer in Las Vegas. In purchasing the firearms, Kelly completed the necessary forms provided by the ATF, including the ATF Form 4473 for this purchase on April 16, 2016. On Form 4473, the defendant stated that he was the actual buyer and was not purchasing the firearms for another person.

After purchasing the firearms, Kelly provided them to his co-defendant, Naeem Smith, who paid the defendant $1,200 for the purchase.

On April 25, 2016, Kelly purchased two firearms from another firearms dealer in Las Vegas, NV. He completed the necessary forms provided by the ATF, including completing and signing the ATF Form 4473 for his purchase on April 25, 2016. In the form, Kelly stated that he was the actual buyer and was not purchasing the firearms for another person. After purchasing the firearms, Kelly provided them to Naeem Smith, who paid the defendant $1,800 for the purchase, according to the court records.

On April 28, 2016, Naeem Smith traveled to St. Thomas from Las Vegas. At the Cyril E. King Airport, officers of Customs and Border Protection inspected Naeem Smith’s checked bag and discovered multiple firearms, including the firearms that defendant Michael Kelly had purchased for Naeem Smith.

Kelly faces up to five years imprisonment and a fine of as much as $250,000. A sentencing date will be set by the court.

This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Juan Albino and is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative.

According to Shappert’s news release, Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide initiative of federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and community leaders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.

More information on the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods is online at the DOJ website.

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