Convicted felon admits to role in trafficking stockpile of firearms from Alabama to Massachusetts

BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty last week in federal court in Boston to illegally transporting dozens of firearms from Alabama into Massachusetts. 

According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, 26-year-old Jahquel Pringle pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to illegally transport firearms; two counts of illegal transportation or receipt in state of residency of firearm purchased or acquired outside of state of residency; and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for June 6, 2024. Pringle was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2022 along with co-defendants Brandon Moore, Jarmori Brown and Kobe Smith.

            According to the charging documents, Pringle, Brown, Moore and, allegedly, Smith conspired to obtain at least 24 firearms from Alabama, where Moore lived, and then transport them to Boston. In two separate trips in July and August 2020, Pringle traveled from Boston to Alabama on a commercial bus to pick up the firearms from Moore and then transported the firearms, concealed within luggage, back to Boston by bus. At least seven of the firearms have been recovered from the streets of communities in Massachusetts. Pringle was captured on video firing one of the firearms in Alabama. Pringle is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior felony conviction.

            In July 2023, Brown was sentenced to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release after previously pleading guilty to his role in the conspiracy. Moore’s case was transferred to the Middle District of Alabama where he has since pleaded guilty. Smith remains in federal custody pending trial.

            Both the interstate transportation charge and the conspiracy charge provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm provides for a sentence of up to ten years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

            Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. This case is being prosecuted by the Major Crimes Unit.

            This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.