Mastermind of Rock Hill-to-NYC gunrunning ring pleads guilty

The Rock Hill man accused of being the mastermind behind a gunrunning ring from South Carolina to New York City pleaded guilty Monday just as his trial was getting underway.

Earl Campbell, 25, pleaded guilty in criminal court Monday in Manhattan to three weapons charges, including conspiracy, and will face 16 to 18 years in prison when sentenced next month, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Police and prosecutors called Campbell the ringleader of an “Iron Pipeline” that sent assault weapons, handguns and ammunition from South Carolina, where weapons laws are relatively lax, to New York City, which has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation.

Campbell and 18 others – including six from Rock Hill – were arrested in August 2013 in what police and prosecutors said was the largest seizure of illegal weapons in New York City history.

Campbell traveled by bus to New York several times over almost a year to sell 90 weapons for $75,000.

Campbell was apprehended by an undercover officer who infiltrated the ring.

The police operation resulted in the arrest of 19 people from South Carolina, North Carolina and New York.

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of the final defendant in the case. Larick Michaux, 27, of Rock Hill is a convicted felon barred from possessing guns. He is accused of providing several guns for Campbell to take to New York.

Several others from Rock Hill involved in the plot already have pleaded guilty.

Last week, Michaux’s sister, Warquisha Michaux, 30, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and weapons charges and faces six years in prison.

Also last week, Arthur Barber, 28, and Brandon Potts, 26, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and weapons charges.

Earlier this year, Chris Hill of Rock Hill, 25, a link between the Rock Hill and Raleigh, N.C.,-area gunrunners, was sentenced to three years in prison.

Last year, Campbell’s girlfriend, Kendall Jones, 23 – nicknamed “Zebra Girl” because she carried weapons in a zebra-striped suitcase – was sentenced to four years after pleading guilty to weapons charges.

Authorities say Jones used a cellphone video to try to assemble an assault rifle on a busy New York street corner.

This story was originally published April 13, 2015 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Mastermind of Rock Hill-to-NYC gunrunning ring pleads guilty."