He went from getting A’s — to dealing with Class B felonies.
A Tennessee school pupil — who as soon as made the dean’s listing — was arrested in New York for allegedly promoting dozens of loaded weapons to an undercover police officer, prosecutors introduced Wednesday.
Bronx native Shakor Rodriguez, 23, faces a complete of 304 counts, together with legal sale of a firearm and legal possession of a weapon, from two indictments, the Bronx District Lawyer’s Workplace mentioned.
Rodriguez, often known as “Sha,” was attending Austin Peay State College in Clarksville, Tenn., when he allegedly smuggled scores of firearms into the Huge Apple, stashing them in duffle baggage and at instances transporting them by bus.
He’s accused of promoting 73 weapons, 59 of them loaded, to an undercover cop between July 17, 2020 and Dec. 22, 2021 — whereas apparently maintaining a 3.5 GPA for at the very least a part of that point.
A “advantage web page” from his college states that he was one among 2,000 college students named to the dean’s listing for tutorial achievement in the course of the Fall 2020 semester.
A lot of the weapons have been bought close to Rodriguez’s previous stomping grounds on Weeks Avenue, or on Allen Avenue within the Decrease East Aspect, prosecutors mentioned.
Authorities are nonetheless investigating how and the place Rodriguez allegedly acquired the weapons, which an undercover then purchased for between $1,000 and $1,500 a pop.
A number of of them have been semi-automatic weapons, and at the very least 4 “are thought of assault weapons,” District Lawyer Darcel Clark mentioned.
Prosecutors say Rodriguez allegedly additionally hawked greater than 40 high-capacity magazines, together with a number of “drum” magazines. That’s the identical kind of ammunition journal utilized by Lashawn McNeil to shoot and kill NYPD officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora in Harlem final week.
Rodriguez was arrested Dec. 22 in The Bronx, as a part of the greater than year-long sting operation, dubbed “Operation In a single day Specific.” He was arraigned the following day on the primary indictment and remanded into custody.
A since-closed GoFundMe web page referred to as “Convey Shakor Residence” was created for him on Dec. 27, elevating nearly $300.
“I'd not have anticipated that of him,” mentioned Loretta Prepare dinner, a Bronx resident who mentioned she watched Rodriguez “develop up” within the neighborhood.
“He wasn’t a thug, he was respectful,” mentioned Prepare dinner, who acknowledged Rodriguez from a photograph and described him as “quiet, low-profile.”
Rodriguez was arraigned Monday on the second indictment, and is due again in court docket on Jan. 31.
His Authorized Support legal professional, Eric Scott, declined to touch upon the case.
His bust comes amid a state and native crackdown on unlawful firearms being trafficked into the Huge Apple.
“The NYPD labored diligently to intercept these lethal weapons earlier than they hit our streets,” Clark mentioned in an announcement. “Bronxites are dying from gunfire and we can not tolerate yet one more unlawful gun in our neighborhood.”
Extra reporting by Catalina Gonella
Post a Comment