A group of aspiring rappers ran dozens of guns from Georgia to New York City, including one firearm that was used to shoot at police officers in the Bronx, according to a federal indictment unsealed in Manhattan Wednesday.
Accused ringleaders James “Spazz” Thomas and Courtney “Bway” Schloss used basketball-themed coded language to avoid law enforcement, authorities said. The duo allegedly referred to a 9 mm semi-automatic as a “Rondo,” after NBA star Rajan Rondo, who wore the jersey No. 9. They called another gun a “Jordan,” according the indictment.
On Nov. 3, 2020, one of Thomas’ customers ordered a “Rondo with free throws,” meaning a 9 mm pistol with ammunition, the indictment says.
Thomas and Schloss used members of the Brooklyn-based Blixky Gang and others to transport roughly 87 firearms between August 2020 and April from federal firearms dealers in Georgia by bus and rental cars, authorities said. In some cases, customers paid for specific guns with mobile banking apps, cash and wire transfers.
A third key member of the operation, Duvaughn “Dupree” Wilson, acted as a straw buyer for the guns in Georgia, the feds charged. Wilson filled out documents pledging he was the buyer of the guns, when he was actually buying them for Thomas and Schloss, the indictment said.
The ring also referred to the guns as “situations,” “poles” and “televisions.”
The Blixky gang members at times resold the guns on the street, but they also kept a stash of the weapons for their own use, the indictment said.
Several times, the guns were used in crimes. On Feb. 21, one of the guns — a Taurus .22-caliber pistol — was used by a fleeing suspect to fire three times at police in pursuit. No one was struck.
On April 26, a man was shot in the ankle in the Bronx with a .22-caliber gun that was later recovered. The gun was bought in October by the ring in Georgia.
And on July 6, the fugitive task force raided an apartment seeking a suspect in a Brooklyn murder and found four guns allegedly purchased by the ring.
The guns also sometimes showed up in videos recorded by the group. On Oct. 14, 2020, members of the gang filmed a video in Atlanta showing them waving and unloading guns that appeared to have been bought by Wilson, the indictment said.
A similar video with some of the illicit guns being flashed was filmed in New York City in mid-November. A third video of a song shot in April showed eight handguns and a rifle.
