GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A man convicted of trafficking a firearm that was used in the murder of a 2-year-old in Wyoming has been sentenced.
U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced Monday that Jerril LaMounta Martin from Grand Rapids was sentenced to 37 months in prison for illegally purchasing and trafficking more than 40 firearms.
After he’s released from prison, he’ll be under supervised release for an additional three years.
Totten says Martin ran an illegal gun trafficking business, charging customers $50 to $100 per firearm to lie on the purchase forms saying he was buying the guns for himself when he was really buying them for others. Totten says the tactic is often referred to as “straw purchasing.”
Investigators say Martin knew some of his customers were reselling guns to other people.
Police are still trying to track down most of the guns Martin trafficked but have recovered 14 of the firearms.
One of the guns was used tokill a 2-year-old child in Wyoming. The Kent County prosecutor has filed charges against the 2-year-old’s father, Senita Parks, in the case.
Here’s a look at the crimes the other firearms were used in:
In Genesee County
• A Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol, which Martin purchased on April 22, 2021, was used in a drive-by shooting in Flint, which struck an 11-year-old girl.
• Another Glock 9mm pistol, which Martin also purchased on April 22, 2021, was used in a homicide in Flint.
In Kent County
• A Ruger 5.7 x 28 mm semi-automatic pistol, which Martin purchased on September 4, 2021, was used to kill a 2-year-old child on February 9, 2022, in Wyoming, Michigan. The Kent County Prosecutor has filed charges against the victim’s father, Seninta Parks, in this case.
• A Glock .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, which Martin purchased on September 7, 2021, was used in a shooting on the Blue Bridge in downtown Grand Rapids on September 11, 2022, in which four people were injured. Moreover, this same gun was used in two prior shootings in Grand Rapids.
• A Glock 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, which Martin purchased on September 7, 2021, was used in three separate drive-by shooting incidents in Grand Rapids over the next two months.
In Isabella County
• A Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, which Martin purchased on September 10, 2021, was recovered by Central Michigan University Police in connection to a series of vehicle break-ins.
“Straw purchasing and gun trafficking drive a dangerous black market for firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. He continued: “These crimes feed the violence that plague communities across Michigan – including the horrible killing of an innocent 2-year-old child less than a year ago. My office will hold straw purchasers and illegal gun traffickers accountable for creating these supply lines of violence.”
