This week, Marshal Vivian Harris, 37, of Davie, Florida, and Wisler Majeure Jacques, 40, of Margate, Florida, appeared in federal court in Miami following their arrests for dealing firearms without a license and possession or transfer of a machine gun.
According to court documents, federal agents began investigating Harris and Jacques in February. It is alleged that during that time, Jacques sold about 27 “ghost guns” and 48 auto sears to investigators.
Ghost guns are untraceable firearms with no serial numbers. Ghost guns are often sold disassembled, requiring buyers to build them at home. Auto sears (also called switches) are small devices that, when added to a handgun, turns the handgun into a machine gun.
According to the charges, Jacques obtained the ghost guns from Harris before selling them to law enforcement. On April 25, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Harris’ home. During the search, agents found 3D printing equipment and a computerized mill machine that was designed to manufacture firearms parts, as well as several partially completed ghost guns, according to the charges.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, announced the charges.
ATF Miami Field Division investigated this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Gerarde is prosecuting it.
This case and prosecution was carried out by members of the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force. The South Florida HIDTA, established in 1990, is made up of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who, cooperatively, target the region’s drug-trafficking and money laundering organizations. The South Florida HIDTA is funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which sponsors a variety of initiatives focused on the nation’s illicit drug trafficking threats.
Read more at the Justice Department
