HARRISBURG, PA — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced charges against six individuals accused of participating in an alleged firearm trafficking scheme uncovered by the Allegheny County Gun Violence Task Force on Friday. Authorities say the investigation led to multiple arrests and the recovery of numerous firearms believed to have been funneled to people prohibited from legally possessing them.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the charged individuals—identified as Leneja Cogdell, 30; Martell Herriot, 27; Deonquay Wilson, 23; Halle Sokol, 25; Deveda Horsley, 26; and Raquel Betters, 27—are accused of obtaining guns legally before transferring or lending them to others in violation of state law. Officials describe the conduct as straw purchasing and straw lending, practices that investigators say frequently contribute to gun violence in western Pennsylvania.
Authorities allege that Cogdell, Sokol, Horsley, and Betters provided firearms to current or former intimate partners, as well as other individuals barred from possessing firearms. Investigators report that Cogdell purchased seven firearms in recent years and transferred or loaned them to several people, including a significant other and a relative.
Herriot and Wilson are accused of conspiring to traffic firearms to individuals prohibited from having them. All defendants except Cogdell are currently in custody and are expected to be arraigned on various felony charges. Cogdell remains wanted on an active warrant.
“Straw purchasing often leads to violence, and that is why my office, along with our partners, take this conduct very seriously,” Attorney General Sunday said. He added that the defendants “took deliberate and intentional action to get firearms into the hands of dangerous people,” and credited the task force with making substantial progress in removing illegal firearms from communities.
Investigators say at least 11 firearms were illegally transferred or lent by those now facing charges.
The Allegheny County Gun Violence Task Force, led by the Attorney General’s Office in collaboration with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, focuses on tracking illegal firearm movement and investigating acts of gun violence across the region.
The cases will be prosecuted by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. All charges are allegations, and every suspect, arrestee, and defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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