NEW YORK, NY – A major gun trafficker operating in New York City has been sentenced to ten years in prison. James “Spazz” Thomas trafficked 89 illegal guns into the city in the past two years, some of which were tracked to violent crimes in the city.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said, “James Thomas participated in the trafficking of dozens of guns to New York, and some of the guns that he trafficked can directly be tied to violent crimes. Thomas exacerbated the scourge of gun crime in New York, and for that, he is rightly facing a lengthy prison sentence.”
Thomas worked with an accomplice in Georgia, Duvaughn Wilson, who acted as a straw purchaser in the ring.
The two used code words when communicating about their gun trafficking operation.
The defendant coordinated with Wilson to order specific firearms and pay for them using cash, mobile banking applications, and wire transfers. As a means of communicating about the firearms, the defendants used coded language, referring to the weapons as “tvs,” “knocks,” and “situations.” In some cases, the defendants referred to the caliber or model of a firearm by referring to the jersey numbers of famous athletes.
Those guns were then resold in New York City to members of the Blixky Gang.
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