Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Philadelphia woman today admitted conspiring to sell guns without a license, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Rosselyn M. DeJesus, 26, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb in Camden federal court to an information charging her with conspiracy to deal firearms without a license.

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

Between June 30, 2012, and July 19, 2012, DeJesus bought five pistols from Philadelphia-area gun shops, which she then transferred for resale to her conspirator, Michael Wayne Lee, also of Philadelphia. Lee, a previously convicted felon, resold them. Two of the five weapons were sold by a third individual, Ammie Steward, to a witness cooperating with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). These two weapons are now in the custody of law enforcement.

On Feb. 19, 2014, Lee pleaded guilty before Judge Bumb to one count of conspiring with DeJesus, Steward, and others to deal firearms without a license and one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 29, 2014.

On Dec. 19, 2012, Steward, pleaded guilty before Judge Bumb to dealing firearms without a license and one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 19, 2014.

Also in connection with this investigation, on May 5, 2014, ATF agents arrested Wendelle L. Ford, 40, of Camden. Ford was charged with conspiracy to deal firearms without a license.

From January 2012 through July 2012, Ford obtained firearms from different sources, who purchased them in gun shops in Philadelphia and pawn shops in North Carolina.

Ford then resold the firearms, including at least two firearms to Steward, who in turn sold the weapons to an ATF informant. In total, Ford dealt 15 firearms without a license. Ford made his initial appearance in court on May 5, 2014, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen M. Williams and was released on bond.

The count of conspiracy to illegally deal firearms to which DeJesus pleaded guilty, and with which Ford is charged, carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. DeJesus is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 5, 2014.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robin Shoemaker, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden. The charges and allegations contained in the complaint against Ford are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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