Six people arrested, 47 guns seized during weapons trafficking crackdown in Nassau

Nassau police and their law enforcement partners arrested six defendants and seized 47 guns in what authorities on Friday called one of the largest firearm trafficking crackdowns in the county’s history.

Police also seized more than a kilo of cocaine and 150 grams of heroin during the investigation, which began 14 months ago when a plainclothes unit arrested a motorist and recovered an illegal gun during a traffic stop, Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said at a news conference in Mineola.

Ryder said the weapons, which were on display at the news conference, were bought or stolen in other parts of the country and put up for sale in Nassau County.

"We were able to confiscate 47 guns, as displayed on these tables, 1 kilo of cocaine and 150 grams of heroin — these are things that would have made us much less safe," Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said. "If they were continuing to be on our streets, the guns and the drugs, who knows how many lives had been saved?"

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said the six defendants face multiple weapons and drug charges.

Donnelly said the suspects may be tied to a "violent, Jamaica-based gang," but did not identify the criminal organization.

"I fully anticipate additional defendants, and we will be looking to pursue more drug and firearm charges, and conspiracy charges," Donnelly said. "This is one of the largest gun trafficking cases I have seen in my 37 years in the district attorney’s office. Any single one of these nearly 50 guns had the potential to do untold damage in our neighborhoods, in our region, in our state."

Authorities said two of the weapons have been linked to shootings in Suffolk County and Alabama. The defendants sold weapons in the middle of the day across the street from a school on the Nassau-Queens border as children were leaving the school, according to Donnelly, who declined to identify the school.

Defendant Andrew Petgrave pleaded not guilty to drug and gun charges at an arraignment in Hempstead before Nassau Judge Michael Alpert. Petgrave's attorney, Joseph Lo Piccolo, said he will review the evidence in the case after he receives discovery from prosecutors to determine if the charges are appropriate. 

Robert Petgrave and Jamari Purrier pleaded not guilty to drug charges. Robert Petgrave's attorney, Justin Feinman, and Purrier's attorney, Christopher Devane, did not return requests for comment. All three defendants were ordered held in lieu of $500,000 cash bail, $1 million insured bond or $2.5 million partially secured bond.

Clayton Solomon pleaded not guilty to a weapons charge, and Alpert ordered him held in lieu of $250,000 cash bail, $500,00 insured bond or $1.25 million partially secured bond. His attorney, Mitchell Barnett, did not respond to requests for comment. 

Shahede Folkes pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and was released on nonmonetary conditions, according to court records. His attorney, Gregory Zak, declined to comment. 

Raeem Smith pleaded not guilty to a weapons charge and conspiracy. Alpert ordered him held without bail. His lawyer, George Michel IV, could not be reached for comment. 

The defendants are Jamaican nationals, and three of them — Purrier, Smith and Folkes — were living in the United States illegally, Ryder said.

Other agencies involved in the investigation include Suffolk police; the NYPD; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; and the U.S. Marshals Service.

"These partnerships allowed us to dismantle a major pipeline of violence and poison into our community," Donnelly said. "By taking these defendants off the street, along with this arsenal of illegal firearms and lethal amounts of narcotics, we have cut off a significant source of crime in our community."