Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Westbury man was sentenced today to eight years in prison for selling more than a dozen illegal firearms between October 2020 and January 2022.
Gerald Pierre, 40, pleaded guilty before Judge Howard Sturim on June 1, 2023, to Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree (a B violent felony) in satisfaction of the indictment. The defendant was sentenced today to eight years in prison and five years’ post release supervision.
“This defendant sold an assortment of incredibly dangerous illegal semi-automatic rifles and assault weapons, including several large-capacity magazines, and then fled the county,” said DA Donnelly. “Through the diligent efforts of the Nassau County Police Department and my prosecutors, Pierre was apprehended in Philadelphia, extradited, and will now go to prison. We continue to make strides in getting illegal guns off our streets and we will not let up in our efforts.”
DA Donnelly said, according to the charges, on nine separate dates between October 2020 and January 2022, the defendant sold a total of 14 illegal firearms, including semi-automatic rifles, assault weapons, revolvers, and pistols. Seven of those firearm sales took place in Westbury, one in Uniondale and another in Hempstead.
Nearly all the firearms were loaded or sold with accompanying ammunition, and many were sold with large-capacity magazines that could hold up to 60 rounds of ammunition.
In February 2022, the defendant fled Nassau County and a warrant was issued for his arrest. On January 10, 2023, the defendant was arrested by Amtrak Police near Philadelphia for an unrelated matter, and it was discovered that the defendant had an open arrest warrant in New York. The defendant was extradited to Nassau County on March 29, 2023.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Investigative Counsel Brian Rodriguez of the Narcotics, Firearms and Gangs Bureau. The defendant is represented by David Haber, Esq.