Camden County Man Sentenced To 63 Months In Prison For Illegal Sale Of 14 Guns

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden County, N.J., man was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for selling guns without a license and illegally possessing firearms, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Eric J. Reed, 45, of Pennsauken, N.J., previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of dealing firearms without a license and one count of transferring a firearm to a previously convicted felon.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Between May 2012 and August 15, 2012, Reed bought 14 firearms – five pistols, seven handguns and two rifles – from Pennsylvania gun shops and gun shows, which he then transferred for resale to his nephew, Ammie Steward, a/k/a “Beav,” a/k/a “B,” 38, of Pennsauken, a previously convicted felon who served a substantial prison term for manslaughter. Steward then resold the firearms.

Reed purchased the firearms in Pennsylvania after fraudulently obtaining a Pennsylvania driver’s license, then sold the weapons to a witness cooperating with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Reed also admitted to using a power tool to obliterate the serial numbers on the 14 guns. A number of the firearms were sold along with ammunition magazines and seven of the guns were sold along with high-capacity magazines. On at least one occasion, Reed purchased and gave to Steward for resale a firearm (a Kel Tec PLR-16 .223-cal. pistol) along with a box of ammunition. On a separate occasion, Reed purchased and then transferred to Steward for resale a rifle with a bayonet. All 14 weapons are now in the custody of law enforcement.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Bumb sentenced Reed to serve three years of supervised release. Steward has pleaded guilty to related charges and awaits sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Cannon, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Pennsauken Police Department, under the direction of Chief John J. Coffey.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.

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Defense counsel: Ralph Jacobs Esq., Philadelphia