Edmond Man gets 3 years plus for smuggling firearms to Middle East

OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, RANDY LEW WILLIAMS, 58, of Edmond, was sentenced to serve more than three years in federal prison for illegally shipping firearms to the Middle East, in addition to two other firearms violations, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.

On June 1, 2020, Williams was charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act, making a false statement to a firearms dealer, and possession of an unregistered firearm.  According to court records, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Legal Attaché in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) notified the FBI Oklahoma City Field Division that a FedEx shipment had been seized by UAE authorities in Dubai, UAE, on December 19, 2018.  The shipment contained multiple Glock pistols and firearms parts.  Shipment records indicated the shipment was sent from Williams, from an address in Oklahoma City to the intended recipient located in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.  Williams did not have a Federal Firearms License from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, or authority from the Department of Defense to export defense articles (i.e. weapons) outside the United States.

On June 26, 2020, Williams pleaded guilty to all three counts charged.

Today, U.S. District Judge Jodi W. Dishman sentenced Williams to serve 40 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release on each count when his prison terms ends.  In announcing the sentence, Judge Dishman noted the nature and circumstances of the offense and the need for the sentence to reflect the seriousness of the offense.  Williams has been in custody since his arrest on March 2, 2020.

This case is a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Oklahoma City Field Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Dallas Field Division, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Oklahoma City Police Department, and the Edmond Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Dillon and Mark Stoneman prosecuted the case.