A Virginia man who pleaded guilty to counts of trafficking weapons and distributing narcotics received a 14-year prison sentence, according to Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote sentenced Jyshun Trower, a 27-year-old from Virginia Beach, to a lengthy prison term and an extra five years of supervised release following his term, according to a release from the US Attorney’s Office.
Trower sold approximately 43 firearms, including high-capacity magazines and components that convert semiautomatic pistols into fully automatic weapons, to undercover agents and other individuals who found themselves among the bustling, sometimes nefarious underground commerce of Manhattan and the greater New York City Area between June and December of 2023, according to court records. The weapons available included semiautomatic rifles, assault-style rifles and handguns, ammo, and a ‘ghost gun’—a firearm without a serial number that law enforcement could trace.
Trower allegedly conspired to distribute counterfeit pharmaceutical pills laced with the strong synthetic opioid fentanyl, in addition to trafficking firearms; reports suggest he aimed to sell up to 10,000 such counterfeit pills to an undercover law enforcement agent in a single transaction. On December 14, 2023, law enforcement officials use the opportunity to catch Trower, discovering him in possession of both the promised weaponry and a cache of over a hundred fentanyl-laced pills. “Jyshun Trower put countless New Yorkers’ lives in jeopardy by attempting to flood the city with over 40 illegal firearms, including military-style assault weapons that destroy human bodies and lives,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in the statement.
The New York City Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Division, and the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations New York Field Office, under the leadership of Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Daniels, tirelessly worked to ensure the success of the investigation. The Office’s Narcotics Unit handled the case, highlighting the delicate balance between legality and disorder.