Three Charged in Firearms Trafficking Conspiracy

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Bryan DiGirolamo, Acting Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment yesterday charging JULIAN FOSTER, 35, of Hartford; LATEECHA GORDON, 37, of Hartford; and TERRELL BARNES, 43, of New Haven, with offenses related to the illegal trafficking and possession of firearms.

Foster was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on September 30, 2025, and is currently detained. Gordon and Barnes were arrested today, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven, enter pleas of not guilty, and were released on $100,000 bonds.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, an ATF investigation determined that Foster was acquiring firearms from a source in Texas, transporting them to Connecticut, and offering them for sale. The investigation revealed that Gordon and Barnes were assisting Foster. On September 3, 2025, an undercover ATF agent purchased a 9mm pistol, a 12-gauge shotgun, and a 5.56 caliber rifle from Foster in exchange for $6,000 in New Haven. At the meeting, Foster indicated that he intended to acquire additional firearms that he would sell to the undercover agent. On September 11, Foster and Gordon were arrested in Huntsville, Texas, after Huntsville Police stopped Foster's vehicle and found three firearms concealed in the engine bay of the vehicle, and found Gordon in possession of drug paraphernalia. On September 12, a related search of a storage facility that Gordon rented in Houston revealed five firearms, ammunition, gun magazines, miscellaneous gun parts, and other items.

It is further alleged that on September 19, Foster contacted the undercover agent and offered to sell additional firearms. Foster provided the agent with photos of two firearms and a video of an auto sear conversion device, which, when equipped to a firearm, allows it to shoot at a fully automatic rate.

It is alleged that investigators seized an AM-15 rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun from Foster's vehicle in New Haven after he was federally arrested on September 30.

The indictment, which was returned yesterday, charges Foster, Gordon, and Barnes, with firearms trafficking conspiracy, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years. The indictment also charges Foster and Barnes with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years.

It is alleged that Foster was previously convicted in Connecticut state court of robbery in the first degree involving the display or threatened use of a firearm, failure to appear in the first degree, and sale of a controlled substance, and that Barnes was previously convicted in Connecticut state court of sale of a narcotic substance and conspiracy to commit larceny in the third degree. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. A charge is only an allegation, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the assistance of the Huntsville (Texas) Police Department and the Arkansas State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan J. Guevremont.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).