Suffolk DA: Two charged in illegal weapons investigations

Two men, one from Lake Grove and the other formerly of Wyandanch, were arrested after separate gun trafficking investigations conducted by federal and local authorities, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Terry L. Byrd, 40, of Bladenboro, North Carolina, and Frederick Miller, 36, of Lake Grove, are each charged with multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon and have been sent to the Suffolk County jail, District Attorney Thomas Spota said at a news conference in Hauppauge. Spota was flanked by an assortment of seized assault rifles, handguns, switchblades and a stun gun made to look like a box of Marlboro cigarettes.

The arrests were made by Spota's Gun Suppression Unit and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"All these weapons would have been on the streets," Spota said, adding they would "certainly would be used in the commission of a crime."

"We believe that he is the principal source of supply of weapons, principally handguns, to street gangs," in Suffolk, Spota said of Byrd, adding that he bought his weapons in North Carolina.

Byrd's attorney Robert Macedonio said his client will plead not guilty Monday, "maintains his innocence and denies any involvement in gun trafficking."

Miller, who faces arraignment on his indictment Tuesday, is also charged with multiple counts of criminal weapons sale. Spota said Miller bought guns from sellers he met on firearms-related website forums then sold them and ammunition for cash.

Miller was charged in June in Nassau with attempting to steal a .44-caliber handgun from a Merrick gun shop and for having three loaded handguns in his car and 11 firearms in his home, Spota said.

He posted bail in Nassau. An undercover investigator from the gun suppression team purchased five weapons from him from September to October, Spota said.

Spota called Byrd a "classic iron pipeline case." The iron pipeline refers to the route used to bring either legal or stolen guns from Southern states where gun laws are more relaxed to New York via I-95.

Miller's attorney Robert Dapelo called the news conference inappropriate. "In essence what they are doing is poisoning any chance that person has to get a fair and impartial jury," Dapelo said, adding that his client will plead not guilty.