CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A St. Croix woman who admitted to making and selling at least 100 illegal “ghost guns” in the territory faces a possible five-year prison term.
Jeanorah Williams, 28, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller to engaging in the business of manufacturing firearms without a license, U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith said.
For her conviction, Williams faces a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment, not more than three years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $250,000.00.
According to court documents, in March 2020, the United States Postal Inspection Service
and Homeland Security Investigations began investigating Williams and her boyfriend, Somalie Bruce, after discovering that the pair had purchased multiple money orders payable to several gun manufacturers in Florida and North Carolina.
The investigation further revealed that from May 2019 to July 2020, more than 70 packages were shipped from the gun manufacturers to Williams and Bruce at their St. Croix address.
Several additional packages addressed to Williams and Bruce containing multiple firearm parts and accessories were intercepted by federal law enforcement between October and December 2020.
All of the packages were later claimed by Williams and Bruce at a post office in St. Croix. On December 8, 2020, federal search warrants were executed at an apartment shared by Williams and Bruce and at a container located on a vacant lot in St. Croix.
From the search, agents recovered multiple firearms parts, accessories, and tools to build various calibers of firearms.
Neither Williams nor Bruce are licensed firearm dealers, importers or manufacturers as defined by federal law.
On March 30, 2023, Bruce pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Traffic Firearms and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. His sentencing is scheduled for December 1, 2023.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security
Investigations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and was prosecuted
by Assistant U.S. Attorney Everard Potter.