4 Arrested, 25 Firearms Seized In Guns-For-Meth Ring

WARMINSTER, PA — A Warminster man who stole guns from his dying father and three others have been jailed after admitting their roles in a conspiracy to trade the firearms for money and methamphetamine.

Justin Burks, 49, admitted Sept. 4 to stealing 23 guns between April 2017 and April 2018 from his ailing father’s extensive firearms collection, Bucks County prosecutors say. He then sold the weapons to his co-defendants, a gun shop and others, including people legally barred from possessing guns.

Burks pleaded guilty to dealing in unlawful proceeds, theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, possession of methamphetamine and charges related to the illegal transfer of firearms. He was sentenced to serve 10-20 years in state prison, with 20-years concurrent probation.

Prosecutors say investigators found Burks illegally traded at least 13 guns to his three co-defendants and sold five to a local gun shop. One gun stolen by Burks turned up in New Jersey during a meth investigation and another was found in the possession of a juvenile in Philadelphia.

Burks said he stole and sold the guns to support his meth addiction and satisfy other financial obligations, according to a grand jury presentment filed in the case. In total, 25 guns were recovered as part of the investigation by Warminster Township Police. At least one gun belonging to Burks' father remains unaccounted for, prosecutors said.

"Any day now, we may turn on the news and find out there’s a dead kid somewhere, shot by one of these guns," Judge Jeffrey L. Finley said Wednesday at a sentencing hearing for Burks’ co-defendant Lacey Jill Williams.

Williams, 31, of Green Lane, was sentenced to 11-22 years in state prison and five-years concurrent probation. She pleaded guilty in June to counts stemming from the purchase of seven of the stolen guns, as well as charges related to the sale of methamphetamine. At least eight guns were ultimately recovered in Williams’ possession.

Though considered the second most culpable defendant in the gun case, Williams' lengthy sentence was attributed to her involvement in other crimes, including a 2016 break-in and the death of her newborn child last year at a hotel in Milford Township.

"I don’t think I have words to adequately express the feeling that this case brings to me," Finley told Williams.

Williams admitted Wednesday to charges of criminal trespass and endangering the welfare of children in her other cases.

Joseph Jackson, 55, of Telford, entered no contest and negotiated guilty pleas in June to charges related to the purchase of two guns from Burks, the sale of drugs and the illegal possession of a gun. He has been sentenced to three to six years behind bars.

One of the guns traded to Jackson was recovered by police in his possession while the other was found in a car associated with Williams. Both Williams and Jackson traded methamphetamine and money to Burks in exchange for the guns on multiple occasions.

Another man, 60-year-old Willow Grove resident Joseph O’Donnell, also entered a negotiated guilty plea in June, admitting to misdemeanor charges related to the illegal transfer of firearms.

O’Donnell admitted purchasing four guns from Burks in exchange for money and a generator and was sentenced to 11 1/2-23 months in county jail. Police located four guns in his possession during the investigation.

Williams, Jackson and O’Donnell all were prohibited by law from possessing guns.

"Illegal firearms in the hands of individuals who are legally precluded from possessing them, particularly those involved in the distribution of illegal drugs, present a clear danger to the citizens of Bucks County. This case demonstrates how quickly illegal firearms can spread once they are in the wrong hands," said Deputy District Attorney Thomas C. Gannon. "Bucks County and our neighboring communities are now safer due to the exceptional work of Warminster Township Detective John Schlotter and the various police agencies who assisted him in recovering such a vast number of illicitly traded firearms."

Investigation of the gun-trafficking conspiracy by Warminster Township Police grew out of a tip from the Office of Attorney General after one of the stolen guns was found in the possession of a 17-year-old in Philadelphia and traced back to the Burks household.