Five people face federal charges for allegedly running roughly 40 firearms from North Carolina into Washington, D.C.

Two of the defendants hold valid D.C. Special Police Officer licenses, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. One of them, Antonique Whitaker, 34, was contracted to work as a security officer at D.C. public schools between 2022 and 2024, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at an Oct. 21 news conference, as reported by 7News.

The Make DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force executed five arrest warrants Tuesday, Oct. 20. Four of the defendants were arrested in Maryland and one in Raleigh, North Carolina.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned the 13-count indictment. The charges include conspiracy to traffic firearms, firearms trafficking and making false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer.

Who was charged

Brian "B" Agee, 40, faces 13 counts: one conspiracy charge, six trafficking counts and six counts of aiding false statements to a dealer. Arnise Lecresha Young, 33, the second licensed Special Police Officer, also faces 13 counts. Frank "Fatboy" Rayvone Harris, 38, faces one conspiracy count. Whitaker faces five counts. Christian Shedetta Atkinson, 30, faces two counts.

Pirro identified Agee and Harris as alleged leaders of the network. Pirro said both men have previous felony convictions involving robberies and firearms offenses.

All five are presumed innocent. An indictment is an accusation, not a finding of guilt.

How the scheme allegedly worked

Prosecutors allege the operation relied on "straw purchasers" who bought guns under false pretenses on behalf of people who could not legally purchase them. The firearms were then moved from North Carolina to D.C., Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and as far as St. George's, Grenada.

"A conveyor belt of weapons feeding violence up the East Coast, putting illegal guns onto our streets," Pirro said at the news conference. "Today, that conveyor belt has stopped."

Investigators traced the weapons through serial numbers, connecting firearms originally purchased in North Carolina to crime scenes in multiple states, according to 7News. Pirro outlined several recoveries tied to the alleged operation. A Glock was tossed during a police chase in Southeast D.C. on Dec. 31, 2024. On June 10, 2025, officers seized four firearms during a drug-related search. Three guns were dropped by a group fleeing police on May 8, 2026. Other firearms were recovered during investigations involving fentanyl, cocaine and PCP.

What's at stake

If convicted, the defendants face up to 15 years in federal prison on the trafficking charges and up to 10 years for false-statement offenses. Sentences would be determined by a federal judge.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is investigating the case. The case number is USAO-ENC 26cr218.

Residents with information about illegal firearms can contact the ATF at 1-888-ATF-TIPS.