Convicted Gun Runner Gets Slap on Wrist

By DYLAN CAMPBELL

A South Carolina mother of two was sentenced on Thursday to time served of just one day for making false statements to acquire firearms as a link in a gun trafficking chain that a prosecutor said could be connected to the death of a New York City police officer.

Alexis Morris, 35, was one of eight persons indicted in Brooklyn Supreme Court as participants in a gun trafficking system bringing weapons from South Carolina to New York, a route nicknamed “the Iron Pipeline” for the number of guns transported along the route. Morris bought her gun in Morris, South Carolina, the same town that, according to the prosecutor, a gun that killed a police officer was traced to.

“What you did wasn’t severe. It was extremely severe because you enabled Mr. Clark and Mr. Grant to bring guns into New York,” said Judge Pamela K. Chen, referring to Morris’s co-defendants. “Those guns ended up in the hands of gang members.”

Curtis Clark, 22, was sentenced to 45 months, almost 4 years, for unlawful transport and sold guns to the “Brooklyn Customer,” according to court documents.  Jonathan Grant, 22, was sentenced to 3 years for recruiting six women to buy guns for Clark.

The sentencing came after Morris plead guilty and accepted a plea deal, reducing her total offense level. She faced the judge, shaking after being flown in from South Carolina. When the judge asked if she was ok, Morris said she was still nervous after her first flight.

The defendant expressed contrition.

“I would like to say I apologize for being up caught up in all this,” Morris said when asked if she had comment. “Honestly, it was just being a follower.”

The judge pressed her to consider the consequences of what she did. When the judge asked how the event has changed her she said, “It just made me want to do better. To be to myself. Not to be a follower.”

Judge Chen said that despite the seriousness of the crime, the defendant’s clean record before this event, her having children to care for and her “minor or minimal role” in the gun trafficking scheme played a role in her decision.

“Try to stay out of trouble and take care of your family,” said the judge.