Jackson, Miss. - Corey Hughes, 36, of Holmes County, pled guilty on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Dana Nichols of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Around 2:30 a.m. on July 28, 2014, Corey Hughes and co-defendant Estelle Cook tore a hole in the side of Central Mississippi Firearms, a gun store in Kosciusko, Mississippi, and stole 41 guns. Hughes, Cook, co-defendant Darnell Branch, and others sold at least a dozen of the stolen firearms in Durant and Lexington, Mississippi. Hughes sold at least one of the stolen guns to Jermaine Griffin for $100.
On Oct. 3, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Corey Hughes, Estelle Cook, Darnell Branch, and Frederick Russell for their unlawful conspiracy to possess and sell stolen firearms. That same day, a federal grand jury indicted Jermaine Griffin for receiving and possessing a stolen firearm.
At his hearing today, Hughes became the fourth defendant to plead guilty.
On Jan. 10, 2018, co-defendant Frederick Russell pled guilty to conspiracy to possess and sell stolen firearms. He will be sentenced in Jackson by Judge Carlton Reeves on March 29, 2018. He faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
On Jan. 18, 2018, Jermaine Griffin pled guilty to possession of a stolen firearm. He will be sentenced in Jackson by Judge Tom S. Lee on April 19, 2018. Griffin faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Last week, co-defendant Estelle Cook pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He will be sentenced in Jackson by Judge Carlton Reeves on May 15, 2018. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Hughes will be sentenced in Jackson by Judge Carlton Reeves on June 11, 2018. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
