North Carolina Native Pleads Guilty to Gun Trafficking Charges

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Kenneth Locke, age 23, who currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pled guilty today to conspiring with others to unlawfully obtain firearms from a licensed dealer by making false statements, also known as "straw purchasing" firearms.

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), made the announcement.

Locke, a native of North Carolina, admitted that he entered into an agreement with Rylan Peterson, a Kingston native and former Marine then living in North Carolina, to acquire six semi-automatic handguns on behalf of Oryin McLeod and others residing in Kingston, New York. After McLeod paid Locke through Peterson, Locke purchased the firearms from a licensed dealer in North Carolina, falsely representing at the time of the purchase that he was acquiring the firearms for himself. Peterson later transported the firearms from North Carolina to New York where he provided them to McLeod and others. McLeod was subsequently arrested for unlawful possession of two of the firearms acquired through the straw purchasing scheme.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 15, 2025, before Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn. Locke faces up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of 3 years. A defendant's sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

McLeod and Peterson previously pleaded guilty to charges related to their unlawful acquisition of the firearms.

ATF and the Kingston Police Department are investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin C. Segovia and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O'Hanlon prosecuted the case.