Brooklyn resident Ariana Charles pleaded guilty Thursday to trafficking firearms and conspiring to distribute fentanyl and cocaine base.
When sentenced, Charles faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the controlled substance distribution conspiracy and 15 years for firearms trafficking, according to a statement released by the office of Breon Peace, United States Attorney, Eastern District of New York.
According to the indictment, statements made during the plea proceeding and court documents, Charles personally sold 18 firearms to an undercover police officer in residential areas of Brooklyn in broad daylight, including in and around the New York City Housing Authority’s Breukelen Houses, outside other apartment buildings and in shopping center parking lots.
Several guns sold by Charles were purchased in Virginia and Georgia and then transported to New York. Among other weapons, Charles sold a firearm with a defaced serial number and several semi-automatic rifles, according to the press release.
Charles also sold drugs to the undercover officers, including crack cocaine and fentanyl. Some of the fentanyl she sold had been disguised as Oxycodone pills.
