Gainesville Police assisted federal authorities in investigating a gun trafficking case that ended with three metro Atlanta men being sent to federal prison.
Alvin Demar and Joshua Carter were sentenced for trafficking dozens of firearms that were later recovered from crime scenes in Gainesville and in several states and Canada. Jamal Plunkett was sentenced for possessing one of the trafficked firearms.
The charges and other information presented in court show that Demar, a convicted felon with convictions for drug trafficking and aggravated robbery, paid individuals, including Carter, to purchase dozens of handguns in the metro Atlanta area. Demar then sold the weapons to other people who also trafficked them or used them in additional crimes.
The guns purchased and sold by Carter and Demar later were recovered from crime scenes in Atlanta; Baltimore; the District of Columbia; Gainesville; French Camp, California; Edmonton, Canada; and Toronto, Canada. Some were used in shootings before they were confiscated by law enforcement.
For example, in November 2021, Carter purchased a Glock pistol that was linked to three shootings in Atlanta. Carter also purchased a Ruger pistol equipped with an extended magazine, and within two months of the purchase, Plunkett, a convicted felon, stole and discharged the pistol 17 times in Gainesville.