Kayrin English Sentenced to 24 Months Incarceration for Gun Trafficking

Kayrin English, 27, of Charlotte, was sentenced on May 30, 2024 to 24 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for dealing in firearms without a license, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to court records and today’s sentencing hearing, ATF agents learned that between February 2020 and August 2021, English had applied for 36 firearm purchase permits. ATF agents also learned that in September 2021, English had applied for an additional seven firearm purchase permits. ATF agents approached English when she arrived to collect the seven permits and conducted a consensual interview. During the interview, English told ATF agents that she would generally obtain the permits and use them to purchase firearms, which she would then resell for profit to individuals who were prohibited from owning or purchasing their own firearms. 

Court records show that English admitted to ATF agents that, since January 2021, she had illegally sold approximately 15 to 20 firearms. English also told ATF agents that most of the illegal firearms transactions were local, however, she had previously travelled to New Jersey where she sold several firearms she had purchased in Charlotte.

On October 31, 2023, English pleaded guilty to dealing in firearms without a license. She is currently released on bond and will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

The ATF led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfredo De La Rosa, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Cedar's Take:

Easy money. English was likely not acting alone. This sort of underground black market trade of weapons is widespread and problematic. Perhaps she was just an enterprising woman trying to make ends meet? Maybe she was just dumb enough to listen to someone who said easy money. This is of course a cultural problem. Those of us who are 2nd Amendment supporters need to push for more of this accountability. 24 Months seems sort of steep for someone with no priors so I'd suspect there is more to this story.

Yet consider this the only "local news" to report this action was WCCB. Their viewership numbers are barely visible, so it likely doesn't matter that they reported the news this way:

"U.S. Attorney Dena King sentenced 27-year-old Kayrin English to two years in prison and one year of supervised release for dealing in firearms without a license."

Of course ADA's don't sentence offenders judges do. 

The work of ATF in getting guns out of the hands of kids and violent offenders is much needed. Federal Judges don't take kindly to weapons violations. Had this action been in Mecklenburg County Court System English would have received community service or less.