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Joseph Alexander Johnson, 38, has been sentenced to 72 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and aiding and abetting a straw purchase firearm transaction, both of which were part of a larger gun trafficking conspiracy.
According to prosecutors, Johnson spearheaded the interstate straw purchasing and trafficking conspiracy, where members were responsible for the illegal purchase, sale, and transport of at least 43 firearms, including AR-type weapons up and down the East Coast.
“He organized and led the conspiracy, managing every aspect of it,” they said. “As a felon, he could not lawfully obtain or possess a firearm, so he instead recruited at least three straw purchasers, all young women with no criminal records, to buy them for him.”
Johnson was arrested in Virginia in 2018.
Officials said that once the straw purchasers obtained the guns and transferred them to him or his co-conspirator, Tysohn Stevens, 39, also of Brooklyn, which were then marketed the illegally purchased firearms over Facebook to many felons and gang members throughout Brooklyn.
Stevens also pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, Feb. 24.
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