A Montco judge sentenced the head of a Philly-based gun ring to decades in state prison

A Kensington man who operated a sprawling gun ring that armed criminals with weapons used in robberies, shootings and other violent crimes was sentenced Thursday to 22½ to 45 years in state prison.

From his home in Philadelphia, Larry Williams, 42, distributed at least 94 guns to criminals across Pennsylvania and in New York City and Connecticut, in what Montgomery County prosecutors said was one of the largest criminal organizations of its kind in the region.

Only 52 of those guns have been recovered by police.

Williams pleaded guilty to racketeering, making false statements, conspiracy and related crimes in February 2024, but later withdrew the plea, saying he had made it after receiving incorrect information from his previous attorney.

That attempt triggering a year of delays that ended when Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’Neill denied Williams’ efforts, ruling he had made the plea knowingly and voluntarily.

Still, Williams continued to profess his innocence in court Thursday, telling O’Neill that police had arrested the wrong man.

“I’ve been in trouble before,” Williams said. “This is me being accused of and charged with things I wasn’t involved in.”

But the veteran judge was not swayed, saying that the weight of the “exhaustive” evidence against Williams spoke for itself. O’Neil added that Williams had shown no sign of remorse for contributing to the region’s gun violence epidemic and called him a threat to his community.

“If we don’t face gun violence in a way in which we, as a community, attempt to interdict it, it would depreciate the seriousness of these crimes,” O’Neil said.

The gun ring was so efficient in distributing guns, O’Neill said, it bore similarities to military groups arming their soldiers.

Prosecutors began investigating the ring in June 2022, when a confidential informant in an unrelated case provided information about Williams’ operation, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.

Williams recruited seven people to assist in the conspiracy, who prosecutors said purchased guns on his behalf at gun stores and trade shows in Oaks and Allentown — Williams was unable to buy the guns himself due to multiple prior felony convictions for guns and drugs.

In fact, Williams was on probation at the time he began recruiting others to buy guns for him, according to court records.

Also arrested in the gun ring were: Robert Cooper III, 25; Ziair Stenson, 28, Malik Rowell-Jernigan, 26; Daynell Jones, 42; Shadiid Smalley, 25; and Zakayla Deshields, 24, all of Philadelphia. Kevin Logan, 26, has also been charged in connection with the gun ring, but had not been arrested as of Thursday.

All of the suspects but Logan have pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and making false statements and are awaiting sentencing.

Members of the group made those purchases between October 2018 and July 2021, buying multiple guns during each transaction, according to the affidavit.

Williams would then sell the guns almost as quickly as he received them, advertising them through text messages and exchanging payment for them through mobile apps, the affidavit said. One gun was sold less than an hour after Williams received it.

Williams’ associates attempted to buy 23 additional guns, but were turned away by store owners who were suspicious of them.

Assistant District Attorney William Highland said Thursday that there was “no excuse for purchasing 94 guns to flood the streets.”

“The sheer volume of firearms this organization was producing, this is something we hadn’t seen in this state,” Highland said. “This is clearly somebody who thought they were above the law, had no care for the law, and wanted to get as many guns in the hands of those cant have them as possible.”