10-06-04 -- Campbell, Roy -- Conviction -- News Release

East Orange Man Convicted of Trafficking 86 Semi-Automatic Handguns for the Bloods Street Gang

NEWARK - An East Orange man was convicted today after a week-long trial of illegally trafficking 86 semi-automatic handguns from Colorado to Newark for members of the Bloods street gang, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Roy Campbell, 29, was a tattoo artist for members of the Bloods street gang in Newark and bought guns for a leader in the "Sex, Money, Murder" set of the Bloods. The Bloods leader recruited Campbell to go to Colorado and paid him for all the weapons purchased by Campbell, according to a confession from Campbell introduced as evidence at the trial.

The trial before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls began with opening arguments and testimony on Sept. 29. The jury reached its verdict after about six hours of deliberations today.

The jury convicted Campbell of one count of conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The jury acquitted Campbell of one count of conspiracy.

Campbell, who testified on his own behalf, claimed that he was buying the guns to engage in his new hobby - metal engraving - and wanted to engrave tribal designs on them. He said, however, that after purchasing $12,000 worth of guns he decided to simply return the guns to the Colorado store where he bought them - at a $6,000 loss - suggesting he had nothing to do with the guns' arrival on the streets of Newark and East Orange.

A Special Agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives testified that he took a confession from Campbell in East Orange, wherein Campbell admitted his gun dealings with the Bloods in Newark and East Orange. The agent also testified that Campbell told him he got roughly $100 in profit from each of the guns.

Campbell left New Jersey for Colorado in 1999 and established residency there for the sole purpose of becoming eligible to buy handguns in Colorado. Campbell then resold the handguns in New Jersey to the Bloods leader and earned approximately $9,000 for his efforts.

Over a three-month period between January and March 2000, according to testimony, Campbell purchased a total of 86 cheap semi-automatic handguns on nine separate occasions. The guns included: Hi-Point 9mm pistols, Bryco 9mm pistols, Intratec 9mm pistols, and Lorcin .380 caliber pistols. Campbell did not have a federal firearms license to deal guns.

Five of the handguns purchased by Campbell were recovered by police offices in Newark and East Orange during arrests of suspects, including Bloods gang members involved in shootings, kidnapings and drug deals, and another gun was recovered on the floor of a Newark bar frequented by Bloods gang members. All of the guns had their serial numbers drilled out with a power drill. Ballistics examiners from the Newark police department and the Essex County Sheriff's Department were able to scientifically restore the serial numbers of these recovered guns enabling ATFE Agents to trace the guns back to Campbell.

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Defense Counsel:

Richard Roberts, Esq. West Caldwell