A Baltimore County man, Cedrick Brinkley, 31, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, has been sentenced to 130 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to traffic firearms. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox.
The announcement was made by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, and Charles Doerrer, Special Agent in Charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
According to court documents and Brinkley’s guilty plea, he and Steven Lee, 38, of Baltimore agreed on multiple occasions in April 2024 to sell firearms to an ATF undercover agent. The agent stated that the weapons would be resold in New Jersey. Steven Lee was previously sentenced to 102 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to the same conspiracy charge.
On April 3, Brinkley sold four firearms and 50 rounds of ammunition for $4,500 during a meeting with the undercover agent and a confidential informant. Two weeks later on April 17, Brinkley exchanged five pistols for $6,100 with the same agent while law enforcement observed both defendants at the scene.
A third transaction took place on April 24 when Brinkley brought five more firearms to a meeting with the undercover agent after collecting them from Lee’s vehicle in a public parking lot. During this exchange—which included a negotiation over price—Lee described one firearm as having a machinegun conversion device attached during a speakerphone call with the undercover agent.
Brinkley received $7,800 for these five firearms; one had a machinegun conversion device affixed. Across all three transactions in April 2024, he sold a total of fourteen firearms—including four reported stolen—and fifty rounds of ammunition.
On May 3rd that year despite being prohibited from possessing guns or ammunition due to a prior felony conviction punishable by more than one year in prison—Brinkley purchased fifty rounds of semi-jacketed hollow point .32 caliber ammunition from an Essex gun shop.
Investigators executed a search warrant at his residence on July 2nd where they found additional weapons—a Glock pistol and KE Arms rifle—as well as nearly $20,000 cash stored alongside his identification documents.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative designed to reduce violent crime through collaboration among law enforcement agencies and communities nationwide. According to officials PSN focuses on building community trust supporting violence prevention organizations setting targeted enforcement priorities and evaluating outcomes.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended ATF’s investigative work stating: “U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the ATF for its work in the investigation.” She also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney James G. O’Donohue III who prosecuted the case.
Further information about resources available through the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
