Alabama man sentenced to 17 years for gun trafficking
Feb. 16—OXFORD — An Alabama man was sentenced on Thursday to more than 17 years in prison for burglarizing two north Mississippi gun stores, possessing stolen firearms, and transporting those firearms to Illinois and New Jersey.
According to court documents, Marquis Devon McCray, 34, of Sheffield, Alabama, masterminded the burglary of the Oxford Pawn Shop in February 2019 and the August 2019 robbery on TNT Pawn in Booneville.
McCray and his co-defendants took the 35 guns stolen in Oxford to New Jersey, where they were sold on the streets. At least 10 of those guns were used in violent crimes in the Newark area. The 49 guns stolen from Booneville were carried to Chicago, Illinois and sold on the streets. Several were used in Chicago shootings and have been recovered by police.
U.S. District Judge Michael Mills sentenced McCray to 210 months in prison and ordered him to pay restitution of $58,158.73 to cover the value of the stolen firearms and damage to the property.
"This defendant callously helped contribute to violence and misery in communities that were already struggling with extreme levels of gun violence," said U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. "He deserves every day of his sentence, and we are proud to stand with ATF and our state and local partners to stem the illegal flow of firearms."
McCray's co-defendant, Galvin Davis, was previously sentenced to 14 years for his role in the commission of one of the burglaries.
