Two held for trial for alleged roles in multi-county gun trafficking network

NORRISTOWN » Two Philadelphia men accused of being involved in a gun trafficking organization that allegedly relied on straw purchase schemes to purchase and resell more than three dozen firearms to others in a three-county area must answer to corrupt organization-related charges in Montgomery County Court.

Nasim Smalls, 24, of the 300 block of North 52nd Street, and Aaron Walker, 20, of the 2500 block of North Marshall Street, each waived their preliminary hearings before District Court Judge Walter F. Gadzicki Jr. on charges of corrupt organizations, illegal sale or transfer of firearms, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, criminal use of a communication facility and unsworn falsification to authorities in connection with alleged incidents that occurred between December 2019 and May 2021 in Montgomery, Bucks and Philadelphia counties.

Smalls, who is represented by defense lawyer Richard J. Giuliani, and Walker, who is represented by defense lawyer Coley Reynolds, now face formal arraignment hearings on the charges in county court on Dec. 1, after which a judge will set trial dates. Smalls and Walker are brothers, according to authorities.

Other charges of firearms not to be carried without a license were withdrawn against both men by prosecutors, according to court records.

A third man, Tyrone V. Gresham, 24, of the 100 block of West Annsbury Street, Philadelphia, previously waived his preliminary hearing on identical charges and is awaiting trial.

All three men remain in the county jail, unable to post various bail amounts, while awaiting trial.

Assistant District Attorney Allison Ruth and co-prosecutor Samantha Arena are prosecuting the cases.

With the charges, authorities alleged the three men were involved in illegally obtaining and reselling 37 firearms, as well as one additional attempted purchase, in the three counties. The firearms included Glock .40-caliber and 9mm handguns and Ruger 9mm handguns, according to court papers.

“The purpose of this corrupt organization was to illegally obtain and distribute numerous firearms to others,” detectives alleged in the criminal complaint.

The investigation began in May 2020, when the Montgomery County Detective Bureau looked

into Gresham’s alleged firearms purchases after multiple red flags indicated he was involved in “straw purchases” of firearms, according to court documents.

The investigation used surveillance, cellphone analysis, review of federal firearms forms, state electronic firearms records, social media analysis, search warrants, interviews and other methods to uncover the alleged participants of the gun trafficking organization.

“The investigation re- vealed Gresham along with Aaron Walker and Nasim Smalls were members of a gun trafficking organization responsible for straw purchasing numerous firearms,” detectives wrote in the criminal complaint. “These firearms were purchased and then distributed.”

A “straw purchase” occurs when a person with a clean background purchases firearms specifically on behalf of another person to conceal the true ownership of the firearm. Persons who are unable to legally purchase a firearm would include convicted felons, domestic violence offenders, juveniles and mentally ill individuals.

Gresham, according to court papers, did not have any prior arrests and was legally allowed to purchase firearms. Smalls and Walker were not legally allowed to purchase or possess firearms, detectives alleged.

Specifically, authorities alleged Gresham made all of the purchases and Smalls and Walker directed which firearms to purchase and handled the sales of the firearms to other individuals. For many of the purchases, Smalls and Walker were waiting in a vehicle while Gresham was in a gun shop making the purchases.

Authorities alleged the investigation determined that Gresham purchased the firearms between Dec. 19, 2019, soon after his 21st birthday, and May 13, 2021, with the additional attempted purchase occurring on May 18, 2021.

Of the 37 firearms purchased by Gresham, 17 were purchased in Bucks County, 16 in Philadelphia and four in Montgomery County.

Only three of the 37 firearms had been recovered by authorities at the time of the arrests.

One firearm was recovered on July 1, 2021, by Michigan State Police when they stopped a vehicle that was stolen out of New York. The other two were recovered by Philadelphia Police during separate arrests on June 5, 2021, and June 13, 2021, according to authorities.

The investigation was led by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau’s Violent Crime Unit with assistance from Hatfield Township Police, FBI Bucks and Montgomery County Safe Streets Task Force, Bensalem Township Police, Philadelphia Police, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Pennsylvania State Police.