Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Transfer of Firearms

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Devon Newsome, age 31, of Forrest Park, Georgia, pled guilty today to unlawfully transferring firearms to a New York resident.

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Field Division; and Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), made the announcement.

Newsome admitted that on May 21, 2023, he delivered 29 firearms to a New York resident in Georgia, including stolen firearms and a handgun equipped with a conversion device that allowed it to function as a machinegun. Those firearms were then transported from Georgia to a property on Western Avenue in Albany. Newsome knew the firearms were destined for New York and knew that neither he nor the person for whom the guns were destined were licensed importers, manufacturers, dealers or collectors of firearms. On May 23, 2023, law enforcement searched the Western Avenue property and found 34 firearms, including the firearms that Newsome had transferred.

Law enforcement also found significant quantities of drugs at the Western Avenue property, which has resulted in criminal charges against Anthony Luizzi and Brandon Bartley, and supervised release revocation proceedings against Jabree Jones.

Sentencing for Newsome is scheduled for January 6, 2025, before United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci. Newsome faces up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a supervised release term of up to 3 years, to begin after he finishes his prison term. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

The following defendants have been charged in connection with this investigation:

• Anthony Luizzi pled guilty on March 18, 2024, to drug and gun crimes in connection with his trafficking of large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, and his possession of more than 30 firearms, including drugs and guns found at the Western Avenue property. Luizzi is scheduled to be sentenced on October 1, 2024.

• Brandon Bartley pled guilty on May 24, 2024, to drug and gun crimes in connection with his trafficking of large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, and his possession of more than 30 firearms at the Western Avenue property. Bartley is scheduled to be sentenced on September 19, 2024.

• Jabree Jones was charged with a violation of the terms of his supervised release on May 23, 2023, based on violations of federal gun and drug trafficking laws, and has been detained pending the resolution of the supervised release violation petition. A final revocation hearing is currently scheduled for September 23, 2024. These supervised release violations are merely accusations. Jones is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The DEA and the ATF are investigating the case, with assistance from the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG), and the Henry County Police Department in Georgia. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Wentworth-Ping is prosecuting the case.