Manhattan prosecutors said undercover officers bought 45 firearms before arrests led to more seizures.
NEW YORK CITY, NY — Manhattan prosecutors and the NYPD said Monday that a father and son helped lead a gun trafficking operation that moved firearms from Georgia to New York City and sold dozens of weapons to an undercover officer.
The 56-count indictment charges Daniel Vern Joly, 34, his father, Daniel Joly, 53, Johnny Philogene, 37, and Deashawn Ross, 25, in what officials described as a months-long conspiracy from March to May. Authorities said the men sold 45 guns across five undercover purchases worth more than $46,000 and that officers recovered more than 30 additional firearms during arrests June 17.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the case with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Bryan DiGirolamo, special agent in charge of the ATF New York Field Division. Bragg said the defendants used what officials call the iron pipeline, a route used to move guns from states with looser firearms laws into New York. “Every illegal gun removed from our streets is a potential tragedy prevented,” Bragg said. Tisch said the network was led by a father and son and that investigators “built this case with precision and strategy” before the weapons could be used in city neighborhoods.
Prosecutors said Daniel Vern Joly, of Covington, Georgia, arranged the sales by text message and video calls, sent photos and videos of guns, and traveled to New York to meet the undercover officer. His father, Daniel Joly, of Brooklyn, helped gather firearms and complete sales, prosecutors said. Ross, of Conyers, Georgia, allegedly helped equip some guns with attachments, including forced reset triggers, which can increase the rate of fire. Philogene, listed by prosecutors as a Brooklyn resident, also allegedly helped in the sales. All four men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The first alleged sale began after Daniel Vern Joly told the undercover officer on April 1 that he planned to travel to New York. Prosecutors said he met the officer April 9 near Canal Street and Forsyth Street in Chinatown, then later sold 10 firearms with ammunition inside the officer’s vehicle. That sale, worth more than $10,800, included a semiautomatic pistol with a flashlight attachment and a forced reset trigger, prosecutors said. Minutes later, Ross allegedly called Joly and said he had obtained firearms with forced reset triggers and could get guns with conversion switches.
Authorities said the next sale took place April 21 at the same Chinatown location, where Daniel Vern Joly allegedly sold 10 more firearms with ammunition for about $10,500. One of those weapons was described as a Glock 23 .40-caliber pistol with a machine gun conversion device attached. Later that day, prosecutors said, Daniel Vern Joly called the undercover officer and said his father would handle the next sale. On April 23, Daniel Joly allegedly placed a container holding eight guns and ammunition near East 21st Street and Woodruff Avenue in Brooklyn, where the officer retrieved it and left cash.
The indictment says another sale followed May 7, when Philogene allegedly met the undercover officer near East 87th Street and Avenue M in Brooklyn and gave him one firearm with ammunition. Prosecutors said Daniel Vern Joly then directed the officer to meet Daniel Joly near Ocean Avenue and Avenue L in Brooklyn to pay for the weapon. That transaction was worth about $1,000. On May 12, prosecutors said, Daniel Vern Joly and Ross joined a three-way call with the undercover officer in which Ross described how he had gone to a gunsmith to have forced reset triggers installed.
The final alleged sale happened May 19, when Daniel Vern Joly met the undercover officer after sending a screenshot of the Chinatown meeting location, prosecutors said. Authorities said he sold 16 firearms with ammunition for about $14,800. In all, the five sales involved 45 guns. Officials said some weapons had rapid-fire modification devices, and police also described the seized weapons as including an Uzi, a lilac-colored revolver and pistols modified to fire more rapidly. The exact origin of each recovered gun was not detailed in the announcement.
All four defendants are charged with fourth-degree conspiracy and at least one count of criminal sale of a firearm. Daniel Vern Joly faces the largest set of charges, including first-degree criminal sale of a firearm, first-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree criminal sale of a firearm, 44 counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal sale of a firearm and conspiracy. Daniel Joly faces firearm sale, weapon possession and conspiracy charges. Philogene and Ross face fewer counts tied to their alleged roles in the operation.
Daniel Vern Joly and Daniel Joly were arraigned in New York State Supreme Court on June 17, the day of their arrests. Ross and Philogene were arrested in Georgia and are expected to go through extradition proceedings before appearing in New York. Prosecutors said the case is being handled by the Manhattan district attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit, with help from the NYPD-ATF Joint Firearms Task Force, the NYPD Intel Field Intelligence Office Unit and sheriff’s offices in Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale counties in Georgia.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the department has seized more than 2,300 firearms this year. Kenny said the point of the investigation was to get guns before they were used in shootings, robberies or threats. Officials said murders in New York City are down more than 20% so far this year and down 58% in Manhattan. Those figures were presented as part of the law enforcement briefing, though the gun trafficking case remains at the indictment stage.
Philogene is due back in court July 23, and Daniel Vern Joly and Daniel Joly are expected in court Aug. 4. Ross’ next court date had not been set as of Monday’s announcement. Prosecutors said the investigation remains tied to court filings and statements made on the record.
Author note: Last updated June 23, 2026.