QUEENS, NY – Jessica Heyliger, 39, from Lakewood Avenue in Jamaica, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for her leadership in a gun-trafficking ring.
The ring operated in Queens and sourced firearms from the south through the Interstate 95 “Iron Pipeline.” The sentencing follows Heyliger’s plea of guilt on July 11 to criminal sale of a firearm in the first degree and conspiracy in the fourth degree.
District Attorney Melinda Katz commented on the sentencing, expressing the grave consequences of illegal weapons trafficking. Heyliger’s main role in the operation led the NYPD to dub it “Operation Tiger.”
Her co-defendant, Sharod King, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced in May to nine years in prison for his involvement in the sales to an undercover officer. Two other co-defendants, Mitchell Myree and Laquan Benson, have also pleaded guilty related to the case.
The investigation began in September 2019, and during its span until July 2020, Heyliger and her associates were found to have sold an undercover officer 23 firearms in 13 transactions, along with ammunition and high-capacity magazines.
