Five charged in alleged scheme to traffic about 40 guns from North Carolina to Washington, D.C., and other states

As of 7:54 a.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026

Five people have been arrested and charged in an alleged scheme to traffic firearms from North Carolina to Washington, D.C., and the surrounding region, the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Eastern District of North Carolina and the District of Columbia said Wednesday.

A federal grand jury returned a 13-count indictment charging the defendants with offenses including conspiracy to traffic firearms, firearms trafficking and making false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer, the office said. ATF agents made the arrests on Oct. 20, four in Maryland and one in Raleigh, according to the release.

The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force determined that co-conspirators supplied about 40 firearms to people in multiple places, including Washington, D.C., New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and St. George's, Grenada, prosecutors said.

The defendants

The indictment charges Brian "B" Agee, 40; Arnise Lecresha Young, 33; Frank "Fatboy" Rayvone Harris, 38; Antonique Whitaker, 34; and Christian Shedetta Atkinson, 30, according to the release. Prosecutors said Young and Whitaker hold valid special police officer licenses in the District of Columbia. A caption in the release says Harris and Agee allegedly coordinated the financing of the scheme through Whitaker and Young.

If convicted, the defendants face up to 15 years in federal prison on the trafficking conspiracy and trafficking counts and up to 10 years on the false-statement counts, prosecutors said. "An indictment is merely an accusation," the release says. "The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty."

What officials said

"If you are making sham purchases to illegally run guns in Eastern North Carolina, we will find you and prosecute you," said Ellis Boyle, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, who announced the charges with Jeanine Ferris Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. "Gun‑running networks do not respect state lines, and neither does our determination to stop them," Pirro said.

The operation was conducted with the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, the office said. The ATF is investigating. The case number is 5:26-CR-218.

What is not known

The release does not say whether the defendants have lawyers or when they are due in court.