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Nine people, including a man who allegedly was bringing guns from Virginia to sell to gang members in Trenton, and a Glassboro man who allegedly was illegally selling assault weapons, have been indicted, state Attorney General Paula T. Dow announced Thursday.

The indictments stem from a partnership involving the State Police, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Division of Criminal Justice and other agencies to trace crime guns and investigate those illicitly trafficking guns in New Jersey.

Dow announced the indictments in Trenton with Special Agent in Charge Matthew W. Horace of ATF's Newark Field Division, Major Matt Wilson of the State Police, and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor.

Taylor said the Division of Criminal Justice obtained an indictment charging Trayle Beasley, 29, of Trenton, with leading a network that trafficked guns to the city from the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including guns recovered in connection with several homicide investigations and a narcotics probe. Three Virginia men and a New Jersey man are charged with conspiring with him.

Beasley is charged with leading a gun trafficking network, a first-degree crime which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

A second indictment charges a Glassboro man with selling assault weapons to an undercover trooper, and possessing a machine gun and assault rifles in his home. Two more indictments charge a Fort Dix soldier with unlawfully disposing of two handguns he brought to New Jersey from Texas, and mailing a third gun from Texas to two co-defendants in New Jersey.

"Our historic partnership with ATF enables law enforcement in New Jersey to track guns used in crimes and conduct investigations that extend beyond our borders, where three-quarters of the illicit guns in this state originate," Dow said. "Through this type of investigation, we will aggressively target those responsible for the proliferation of deadly firepower on our streets."

"Firearms trafficking investigations are a priority for ATF in New Jersey," Horace said. "These indictments represent the federal government response to this crime issue in New Jersey....''

"Guns illegally sold in New Jersey are often being bought by criminals who could not obtain them the right way, and criminals with guns equates to shooting deaths," Wilson said. "Tracing seized crime guns with the help of the ATF is leading to arrests and stemming the tide of illegal weapons on the streets," he added.

Two of the cases resulted from NJ Trace, a first-in-the-nation partnership of the Attorney General's office, the State Police and the ATF to trace crime guns recovered in New Jersey using ATF's national eTrace information system. An Attorney General directive requires that information on all guns seized by police in New Jersey be entered into the system for tracking within 24 hours.

According to ATF statistics, approximately 75 percent of the guns that were recovered by police in New Jersey in 2009 came from outside of New Jersey. Approximately 16 percent - the largest share of any other state - came from Pennsylvania, followed by Virginia, which was the source of 9 percent of the guns. Texas ranked ninth among the source states, with 55 guns originating there.

Investigations conducted by the State Police - ATF Joint Firearms Task Force have led to the seizure of more than 230 weapons. The seized weapons include nine assault weapons, a grenade launcher, a machine gun, 14 rifles, seven shotguns, more than 200 handguns, and several large-capacity ammunition magazines.

Since the Division of Criminal Justice began working with the Joint Firearms Task Force in 2008, the Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau has obtained 20 indictments charging 27 individuals, including the indictments returned in the three cases announced Thursday.

Six cases have been referred to the District Attorney's Offices in Bucks, Carbon, Northampton and Monroe cunties in Pennsylvania. Investigations have taken detectives to Virginia, Georgia, Texas and Pennsylvania.

Four other men were charged with second-degree conspiracy and other offenses for allegedly conspiring with Beasley to transport guns into New Jersey illegally, or to unlawfully possess or dispose of guns in New Jersey.

They are: Amoi Smith, 21, of Cranbury; Johnathan Johnson, 28, of Cape Charles, Va.; Bobby Lee Henderson, 24, of Townsend, Va., and Larry Nottingham, 28, of Eastville, Va.

It is alleged that Beasley was selling guns to drug dealers and gang members in Trenton. He allegedly solicited individuals in the Eastern Shore of Virginia to provide him with guns. Growing up, Beasley lived in both New Jersey and the Eastern Shore. Beasley allegedly preferred to deal in revolvers because they do not leave shell casings at crime scenes.

Beasley is charged specifically in connection with 12 guns, including eight handguns, two shotguns and two rifles. Five of the guns were seized by the Maryland State Police on Nov. 16, 2008, when they executed a search warrant for Beasley's car after stopping him as he drove north on Route 13 in Worcester County, Md. Beasley served a one-year prison sentence in Maryland for unlawful possession of those guns, which included a shotgun and four handguns. The other seven guns were recovered by police in New Jersey in connection with crimes. The investigation into Beasley stemmed from intelligence gathered through the NJ Trace program.

It is alleged that Johnson would either purchase or gather weapons for Beasley or would coordinate meetings forhim, during which Beasley would purchase weapons from others on the Eastern Shore. Beasley allegedly bought guns with money, marijuana or other narcotics. Henderson and Nottingham alleged sold guns that Beasley transported to New Jersey. Smith allegedly traveled to Virginia with Beasley on trips to get guns. Beasley and Smith are also charged in a pending indictment obtained by the Mercer prosecutor's office in connection with an armed robbery in East Windsor in March 2009.

Beasley is being held in the Mercer County Jail with bail set at $250,000 cash. Arrest warrants were issued for the other four accused men in connection with the indictment.

Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of 10 years in state prison and a $150,000 fine. In addition to the second-degree conspiracy count against all five men, Beasley and Johnson each face numerous other second-degree counts. Smith and Henderson each face one second-degree count of either transportation or attempted transportation of a firearm into New Jersey for unlawful sale or transfer. Beasley and Nottingham are charged with fourth-degree unlawful disposition of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine. Beasley is charged with four counts, and Nottingham with one.

Taylor said Horace Dixon Jr., 49, of Glassboro, is charged in a state grand jury indictment in connection with 11 guns, including one machine gun, six semi-automatic rifles, three semi-automatic pistols, and one shotgun. He allegedly sold four of the guns to an undercover State Police detective, and the other seven guns were seized when investigators executed search warrants for his car and home.

Dixon was arrested by troopers on Aug. 13 in the parking lot of a bowling alley on Route 47 in Glassboro as a result of an investigation by the State Police - ATF Joint Firearms Task Force, Glassboro police and the Gloucester County prosecutor's office. Dixon was allegedly at the location to sell guns to an undercover State Police detective.

In early July, the Glassboro police learned of two assault rifles for sale and contacted the ATF. As a result, a State Police detective acting undercover allegedly arranged to purchase weapons from Dixon.

It is alleged that on July 17, Dixon sold the undercover detective two guns for $3,000, a 7.62 x 39 mm FEG semi-automatic rifle and a .233-caliber Norinco semi-automatic rifle. He included three large-capacity ammunition magazines for the Norinco rifle. On Aug. 7, Dixon sold two more guns to the undercover detective for $2,000, a .380-caliber Bersa semi-automatic pistol and a .223-caliber Romarm semi-automatic rifle. He allegedly included a large-capacity magazine for the Romarm rifle.

When Dixon was arrested, police executed a search warrant for his car and seized a .45-caliber Sig Sauer semi-automatic pistol, a .380-caliber Star semi-automatic pistol, a 12-gauge Shandong 1st Machine Works pump action shotgun, a 7.62 x 39 mm Romarm semi-automatic rifle, and a large-capacity magazine for the Romarm rifle.

A search warrant executed at Dixon's home yielded a grenade launcher and more than 60 guns, including three guns that are charged in the indictment: a Deutsche Waffen Munitionsfabriken water-cooled, belt-fed machine gun, a .223-caliber Ruger semi-automatic rifle, and a 7.62 x 39 mm Norinco semi-automatic rifle.

Taylor said Dixon is charged in the 25-count indictment with one count of unlawful possession of a machine gun , five counts of unlawful possession of an assault firearm, three counts of unlawful possession of a handgun, two counts of unlawful disposition of an assault firearm, four counts of unlawful possession of a rifle, one count of unlawful possession of a shotgun, seven counts of possession of a prohibited weapon, and two counts of unlawful disposition of a firearm.

Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $150,000 fine. The second-degree counts of unlawful possession of a handgun and unlawful possession of a machine gun each carry a mandatory period of parole ineligibility of three to five years in prison. The third-degree offenses carry a sentence of up to five years in prison, including a mandatory period of parole ineligibility of one-third to one-half of the sentence imposed, and a $15,000 fine. Fourth-degree offenses carry a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Dixon is currently free on bail.

Taylor said William James Ivery, 30, a U.S. Army soldier who is currently stationed at Fort Dix, is charged in a state grand jury indictment with one count of unlawful possession of a weapon and one count of unlawful disposition of a firearm. It is alleged that Ivery purchased two Jennings .380-caliber handguns in Texas, while stationed there, and later disposed of them unlawfully in New Jersey. One of them was recovered from a stolen vehicle in New Brunswick.

A second indictment charges Ivery and two other men, Ronald Blakely Jr., 29, of Hamilton, and Abdul Smith, 28, of Trenton. It is alleged that Ivery, at Blakely's request, mailed a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun that he purchased in Texas to an address in Maple Shade, where Blakely and Smith allegedly retrieved it.

The Trenton police arrested Smith in possession of the gun on March 9, 2008. In connection with that arrest, Smith is charged in a pending indictment obtained by the Mercer prosecutor's office with possession of a gun as a convicted felon and possession of hollow-point bullets.

The grand jury indictment charges Ivery, Blakely and Smith with conspiracy, which carries a term of five years in prison. In addition, it charges Ivery and Blakely with fourth-degree unlawful disposition of a firearm, and charges Blakely and Smith with third-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and fourth-degree violation of firearm regulations.

The three men were arrested Wednesday night on warrants issued in connection with the indictments. Bail is set at $50,000 for Smith, $40,000 for Ivery, and $35,000 for Blakely.

All four indictments announced Thursday were handed up in state Superior Court in Trenton, where the Beasley indictment and one Ivery indictment were assigned for trial. The Dixon indictment was assigned to Gloucester County, and the Ivery, Blakely and Smith indictment was assigned to Burlington County.

Supervising Deputy Attorney General Andrew M. Butchko has coordinated the cases for the DCJ Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau and presented the Beasley case to the grand jury. Deputy Attorney General Jill S. Mayer presented the Dixon case to the grand jury, and Deputy Attorney General Cassandra Serentino presented the Ivery cases.

State Police Det. Sgt. Eric Barlow, Det. Sgt. Brian Duross, Det. Brian Ruane and Det. Marc Friedenberger took part in the investigation. Det. Gary Britton of the Trenton police and Det. Jeff Dorian of the East Windsor police were also involved.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM