Six Charged in Gun Trafficking Conspiracy Between South Jersey and South Carolina

Five Camden County men and a woman from South Carolina have been charged with federal firearms violations following an investigation that resulted in multiple arrests and the confiscation of numerous guns bound for the streets of Camden, Clementon and Lawnside, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced Tuesday evening.

Those charged with conspiracy to traffic in a firearm without a license following the investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are as follows:

Tribbett and Lewis DiMatessa, 37, of Clementon, are also each charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Over the course of the investigation, ATF special agents used a confidential informant to purchase at least 22 firearms from illegal gun brokers and dealers, including an assault rifle, shotguns, handguns and ammunition, as well as a bullet-proof vest, according to documents filed in this case and statements made in court.

The Rutlings allegedly sold guns – including the assault rifle – and ammunition out of several locations in Camden and Lawnside.

The complaints charging them detail several alleged transactions, including a sale in which the defendants provided the informant with a short-barreled shotgun out of their house in Camden.

The men allegedly said they obtained the firearms in South Carolina and brought them to New Jersey on a weekly basis, at times using Amtrak trains to transport the guns.

Gilmore allegedly sold handguns, shotguns and a bullet proof vest, mostly from a house on LaPierre Avenue in Lawnside, with Tribbett and Schippnick serving as brokers for the transactions.

Tribbett, a previously convicted felon, allegedly brokered a deal in which DiMatessa, also a convicted felon, sold a rifle to the informant.

Tribbett was arrested late in the day on Monday, and Gilmore, Schippnick and DiMatessa were arrested Tuesday morning by ATF special agents. The Rutlings were already in state custody on unrelated charges.

Tribbett, Gilmore and DiMatessa were remanded to custody following their initial appearance in federal court on Tuesday.

Schippnick made her initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina and was released on bond. She has been ordered to appear in New Jersey on Aug. 12.

Joseph and Marcus Rutling will make their initial appearances on Aug. 26.

The conspiracy to traffic in firearms without a license charge carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison.

The felon-in-possession of a firearm charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison.

Each count also carries a maximum $250,000 fine.

Fishman credited the ATF special agents, under the direction of ATF Special Agent in Charge George Belsky in Newark, with the ongoing investigation.

He thanked special agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of DEA Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, as well as officers from the Winslow Township and Clementon Police Departments, for their work leading to the arrests.