By Kevin Deutsch
BRONX SUPREME COURT – An accused Bronx arms dealer was indicted Thursday for selling thirteen guns – including two assault rifles – to an undercover NYPD detective, prosecutors said.
Frankie Esperanza, 34, of Throgs Neck, was arraigned in Bronx Supreme Court on an indictment charging him with 77 counts including criminal sale of a firearm, weapon possession, and ammunition possession.
Prosecutors said Esperanza allegedly sold the guns to the detective on eight different occasions between August 8, 2018, and January 28, 2019, at various locations in the Throgs Neck area. Among the inventory that allegedly changed hands: two semi-automatic assault rifles, a high-capacity magazine, and more than two hundred rounds of ammo.
Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas ordered Esperanza held on $250,000 bond. He is due back in court June 19.
“The defendant allegedly possessed these dangerous weapons in the Bronx, and sold them to a courageous NYPD detective posing as a gun buyer,” said Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. “Fortunately, these firearms were intercepted before they could harm anyone in our community, and this alleged gun dealer is out of business. We will do everything we can to stop the flow of illegal guns to our streets.”
If convicted of the top charge of selling a firearm, Esperanza could face five to 25 years in prison, officials said.