Final Rock Hill gunrunner pleads guilty in SC to NYC weapons scheme

The seventh and final Rock Hill defendant who was part of a Rock Hill-to-New York gunrunning scheme will likely spend the next 13 years in prison after pleading guilty late Tuesday while a jury was being selected for his trial.

With Larick Michaux’s guilty plea, the final tally of the seven from Rock Hill who were part of the plot is a combined 50 years in New York prisons.

Michaux, 27, who argued with his fellow gunrunners over illegal gun sale profits, faced up to life in prison if convicted at trial. He took a last-minute plea deal on conspiracy and weapons charges. Michaux will be sentenced May 14, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Although he is a convicted felon barred from having guns, Michaux bought guns repeatedly in Rock Hill and funneled them to Earl Campbell of Rock Hill for ferrying and sale in New York in what police called an “Iron Pipeline” of weapons that included assault rifles, handguns and ammunition.

Campbell, 25 – the ringleader of the Rock Hill arm of the plot that also included moving guns from North Carolina to a New York element – pleaded guilty Monday and faces 16 years in prison. He had been facing life in prison, if convicted at trial. Campbell made $75,000 off of 90 guns – all sold to undercover officers before arrests were made in a wide net, also faced life if convicted at trial.

Campbell and his girlfriend, Kendall Jones, would regularly travel to New York by bus, carrying the weapons in suitcases and bags. Jones, 23, now serving four years in prison, was nicknamed “Zebra Girl” by police because she used a zebra-striped suitcase to carry guns. She once tried to assemble an assault rifle on a busy New York street by watching a video on her cellphone.

Michaux and Campbell were caught arguing over profits by undercover surveillance after the ring was infiltrated by undercover agents. Michaux wanted more money, claiming he was taking risks by buying guns in South Carolina and helping get the weapons.

A total of 19 people were arrested in August 2013 in what police and prosecutors said was the largest seizure of illegal weapons in New York City history.

Also from Rock Hill:

▪ Warquisha Michaux, 30, Larick Michaux’s sister, who called bullets “cop killers,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy and weapons charges and faces six years in prison.

▪ Arthur Barber, 28; Brandon Potts, 26; and Chris Hill, 25; all of Rock Hill also face years in prison after pleading guilty.

This story was originally published April 15, 2015 at 9:40 AM with the headline "Final Rock Hill gunrunner pleads guilty in SC to NYC weapons scheme."