A Philadelphia sheriff’s deputy has been accused of selling two guns to an FBI informant — guns that had been used in a shooting that left a 14-year-old dead.
Samir Ahmad, 29, of Philadelphia, faces charges of firearms trafficking and selling firearms to a person illegally in the country, according to a news release posted on the Justice Department’s website.
Ahmad is accused of selling two semi-automatic pistols and ammunition earlier this month to an informant posing as an illegal immigrant.
During the deal, according to the release, the informant said he was worried he could get deported if he was found to have a weapon.
“You don’t got to worry about none of that,” Ahmad is accused of saying, according to the criminal complaint against him.
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The release said Ahmad made $3,000 from the sale.
He was arrested on Oct. 19.
“As alleged, Samir Ahmad abused his authority – to the greatest extent possible – as a sworn law enforcement officer,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said.
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“The defendant was allegedly sold firearms on the street, and for the sake of putting money in his pocket, was willing to put deadly firearms into the hands of someone he knew was prohibited by law from possessing them,” she said.
“The idea of a sworn public servant so blatantly undermining public safety is reprehensible,” Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, said.
“Philadelphia is awash in illegal guns, which are being used to commit violent crimes, so every weapon we can take off the street and every trafficker we can lock up makes a difference. The FBI and our partners will continue to do everything in our power to make this city safer,” said.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, when officials traced the guns that were sold, they learned that the two Glocks were used in a late September shooting outside of Roxborough High School.
In that shooting, five individuals fired more than 60 rounds at a group of teenagers leaving a football game. Four teens were injured and Nicolas Elizalde, 14 died.
According to Fox News. a Justice Department representative said officials do not believe Ahmad sold guns to the suspects in the school shooting, which took place before the sale.
Fox News reported that the guns came to Philadelphia from Georgia.
A representative of the Sheriff’s Office told the Inquirer that Ahmad was served with a 30-day notice of intent to fire him “for repeated violations of the Philadelphia Sheriff Office directives, policies and procedures. As always, the Office of the Sheriff will continue to cooperate with local, state, and federal authorities.”
Fox News added a detail to that statement.
“The defendant was terminated from the Sheriff’s Office because of his historically poor record of attendance at work,” Fox News reported that it was told by prosecutors “Plainly, this fact suggests that the defendant made more money through the illegal sale of firearms and drugs than he did showing up for his job as a sworn law enforcement officer.”
