James Jayshaun Edwards, of Long Beach, pleads guilty to selling illegal guns

A Long Beach man has pleaded guilty to selling 10 illegal guns, including a ghost gun, and is expected to be sentenced to 7 years in prison, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office. 

James Jayshaun Edwards, 33, pleaded guilty to charges of criminal sale of a firearm and criminal possession of a firearm, according to a news release from the office.

The weapons had been packaged in duffel bags and diaper boxes, the district attorney, Anne Donnelly, said this past summer in announcing his arrest. Some guns had come from the South, she said.

The guns were sold either to a confidential informant or an undercover cop, said Edwards' lawyer Robert Schalk, of Mineola.

The transactions were in front of Edwards' apartment, on Birch Court, between April and July, the release said.

The investigation into Edwards began after a tip that he was selling illegal weapons. Three more guns were found when his home was searched in August pursuant to a warrant, the release said. Two of the weapons he sold had been used in shootings in Queens, Roosevelt, Westbury and Long Beach in 2021 and 2022, the release said.

Edwards, who pleaded guilty before Judge Robert Schwartz, is in jail awaiting formal sentencing. Schalk said Edwards is a truck driver.

“Mr. Edwards has never been in trouble before with the law in his life. He took full responsibility. He deeply regrets his actions,” Schalk said. “He will serve his sentence and return to being a productive member of society upon his release.”

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.