Community Corner

Meriden Man Gets 20 Months in Prison for Selling Stolen Shotguns, Rifle

Police said Corey Williams Jr. was one of three suspects who sold a shotgun and a semi-automatic rifle to a federal informant.

In what started as a scheme to sell some stolen “big guns” on the street ended in a prison sentence for a Meriden man Tuesday.

Corey Williams Jr., 24, who also goes by the name “Little Corey,” was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 20 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for selling stolen firearms to a federal informant, according to a news release from the U.S. Justice Department.

Williams coordinated the sale of two 12-gauge shotguns and a .308 semi-automatic rifle to a buyer in New Haven who was cooperating with law enforcement, officials said.

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The scheme began in February 2012, after Williams told his father Khalid Aziz that he had stolen multipe firearms from a Meriden gun store and was having trouble selling some of the “big guns.”

Aziz put Williams in touch with Airess Johnson, who knew someone interested in purchasing firearms, officials said. The trio drove to New Haven and met the prospective buyer in the parking lot of a city restaurant. There, Williams sold the three weapons for $1,200.

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Williams then paid Aziz approximately $50 for his role in facilitating the sale of the three firearms.

Law enforcement officers later recovered the three firearms from the cooperator’s vehicle. All three had been reported stolen from a federal firearms licensee in Meriden on November 5, 2011.

The Meriden gun dealer identified Williams as someone who had been in the store prior to the theft of nine firearms from the premises. Police also seized a gu box from Williams' home containing ammunition, magazines and a vest, but the other six guns still remain unaccounted for, officials said.

Williams pleaded guilty to one count of sale of stolen firearms on Nov. 2. He has no prior criminal history. Aziz — a criminal with at least 19 felony convictions  — pleaded guilty to the same charge on Oct. 22 and was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment.

Johnson, 35, of New Haven, pleaded guilty on July 3 to one count of possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon. She was sentenced on Jan. 3 to 20 months of imprisonment.


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