Two more plead guilty in Orange County gun trafficking case
Two defendants in Orange County’s biggest gun-trafficking case admitted guilt, deepening a probe that seized 55 firearms and more than 700 grams of drugs.
Two more defendants in Orange County’s largest gun-trafficking investigation pleaded guilty on June 12, adding fresh consequences to an eight-month case that prosecutors say pulled 55 illegally possessed firearms and more than 700 grams of cocaine and fentanyl out of circulation.
The pleas in Operation Powder Burn keep the pressure on a network that investigators say moved illegal guns and narcotics through Orange County and into the wider Hudson Valley. County prosecutors said the operation was tied to the Iron Pipeline, the route they say helped push weapons north from states such as Georgia and Pennsylvania into New York.
Shomaray Lane of Newburgh pleaded guilty in Orange County Court to first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Under the plea agreement, Lane is expected to serve nine years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision, and he forfeited $42,132 and a vehicle. Prosecutors said Lane admitted that he acted individually and with others to sell more than two ounces of cocaine. Sentencing is expected on August 5, 2026.
Dijoun Lawrence of Georgia also pleaded guilty on June 12 to criminal sale of a firearm and conspiracy. He is expected to receive a 13-year prison sentence and five years of post-release supervision, with sentencing also set for August 5, 2026. Together, the two pleas extend a case that has already charged 20 people in what Orange County officials described as the largest gun-trafficking investigation in county history.
The investigation pulled in county and state law enforcement partners, including the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police and the Orange County Drug Task Force, as prosecutors worked through what they said was a long-running trafficking conspiracy. The operation centered on illegal firearms and narcotics sales, with controlled buys used to recover the guns that authorities say were being moved through the network.
Orange County has seen this kind of enforcement scale up quickly. In 2024, prosecutors described Operation Hot Lunch as the county’s largest gun-trafficking case at the time, saying it dismantled a cocaine ring that generated about $3 million a year and led to charges against 33 defendants. Operation Powder Burn surpassed that benchmark, showing how far the county has pushed its gun and drug trafficking cases in the last two years.
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