Photo: Bronx District Attorney's Office
A 23-year-old college student is facing over 300 charges for allegedly trafficking guns and ammunition into New York City. Authorities said that Shakor Rodriguez purchased dozens of firearms and high-capacity magazines while attending Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, and then selling them on the streets of New York City.
One of Rodriguez's biggest customers was an undercover police officer. Rodriguez sold him 73 guns, including 59 which were loaded. He also sold the officer 40 high-capacity magazines, which are illegal in New York.
"The defendant allegedly brought these semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines up from the south, sometimes transporting them in a duffle bag by bus. Dozens of the firearms were loaded, and four are considered assault weapons," District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement.
Rodriguez was arraigned on 225 counts in December and was hit with an additional 79 charges earlier in the week. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
"Stopping traffickers who flood our streets with illegal guns is mission-critical in our work to smash the Iron Pipeline," NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. "The NYPD's officers, working with their prosecutorial partners in the Bronx District Attorney's Office, are the first line of defense in protecting our residents, our families, and our children from the scourge of gun violence, and I commend their work in this important case."