Two Upstate woman and a New York gang member have been sentenced on federal gun trafficking charges. The U.S. Department of Justice says 28 year old, Destiny Shannon Mercado and her sister Daquasia Catherine Mercado of Spartanburg, purchased a number of guns from licensed dealers across South Carolina.
Destiny Mercado then transported the guns to 24 year old, Ruben Enrique Chaev-Muniz in the Bronx, New York. The DOJ says Chavez-Muniz is a known gang member. Court records show that Destiny bought and trafficked more than 60 guns and Daquasia did the same for more than a dozen guns.
The DOJ says a number of the guns were recovered in New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Many of the guns were found at crime scenes or taken off of people prohibited from having them, including juveniles.
Chavez-Muniz and Destiny Mercado have been sentenced to 3 and a half years in federal prison. Daquasia Mercado was sentenced to federal probation.
