Gerald Pierre charged in sale of illegal firearms, including semi-automatic weapons, Nassau DA says
Gerald Pierre, a Westbury man was arraigned Friday on a 61-count indictment for allegedly selling illegal firearms, said Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly. Credit: Nassau County District Attorney's Office
A Westbury man was arraigned Friday on a 61-count indictment charging him with selling more than a dozen illegal firearms, including rifles and pistols, between October 2020 and January 2022, Nassau District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced.
The defendant, identified as Gerald Pierre, 40, was arrested in Pennsylvania and extradited back to Long Island. He was arraigned before Judge Howard Sturim on one count of first-degree criminal sale of a firearm, one count of second-degree criminal sale of a firearm, 28 counts of third-degree criminal sale of a firearm, 13 counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and 14 counts of criminal possession of a firearm.
Attorney David Haber of Mineola said Pierre entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment, but declined to comment on the case at this time.
Pierre was remanded and is scheduled to appear back in court on April 26.
According to the district attorney's office, on nine separate dates between October 2020 and January 2022, Pierre sold a total of 14 illegal firearms, including semi-automatic rifles, revolvers and semi-automatic pistols — with seven of those firearm sales taking place in Westbury, one in Uniondale and another in Hempstead.
Neatly all of the firearms were "loaded or sold with accompanying ammunition," the district attorney's office said, with "many" sold with "large-capacity magazines" capable of holding up to 60 rounds of ammunition.
The district attorney's office said Pierre fled Nassau County in February 2022 and that a warrant was later issued for his arrest.
He was arrested by Amtrak Police near Philadelphia on Jan. 10 on an unrelated charge. It was then authorities learned Pierre had the open arrest warrant in New York — and he was extradited March 29.
"This defendant allegedly sold more than a dozen dangerous illegal guns in Nassau County and fled," Donnelly said in a statement, adding: "Gerald Pierre could not outrun justice, and just over a year later he has been charged for his alleged crimes and faces decades in prison."
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
