Georgia Man Faces 13 Years For Shipping Guns To Newburgh Buyers

Two more people are facing prison time in connection to a multi-state drug and gun trafficking operation.

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler, announced this week that on June 12, Shomaray Lane, 33, of Newburgh, pled guilty to First-Degree Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance and is expected to be sentenced to nine years in prison to be followed by five years of parole when he is sentenced on August 5. As part of the plea, Lane admitted "to acting individually and in concert with others to sell over two ounces of cocaine." He also forfeited $42,132 and a vehicle.

On June 26, Dijoun Lawrence, 23, of Georgia, also pled guilty in Orange County Court to First-Degree Criminal Sale of a Firearm and Fourth-Degree Conspiracy. Lawrence pled guilty as part of a plea agreement and is expected to be sentenced to 13 years in prison, followed by five years of parole when he is sentenced on August 12, 2026. Lawrence admitted in court to supplying firearms from Georgia for sale in New York as part of an ongoing operation.

Orange County's Operation Powder Burn

According to the District Attorney, both cases are part of a long-term investigation into firearm and narcotics trafficking in Orange County that resulted in the filing of firearm, narcotics, and conspiracy charges against 20 people.

“Operation Powder Burn,” was an eight month long "intensive investigation into illegal firearms and narcotics trafficking in Orange County."

“As we see time and time again, there is a direct connection between the illicit sale of narcotics and the illegal sale, possession and use of firearms,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “While the scope and scale of this gun and drug trafficking enterprise was truly alarming, the convictions of these defendants stands as a testament to success of long-term investigations involving multiple agencies from different states and federal partners. These efforts have proven that we can disrupt and dismantle operations that traffic in guns and narcotics. As District Attorney, I warn those who seek to profit in these deadly ways that if you choose to bring illegal firearms or lethal narcotics into Orange County, we will find you and we will hold you accountable.”

The investigation focused on an “iron pipeline conspiracy” in which firearms, including handguns and assault weapons, from the states of Georgia and Pennsylvania were reportedly trafficked into Orange County for illegal sales.

Most of the guns were reportedly sent from outside of New York by FedEx to co-conspirators in the City of Newburgh, where police officers made 55 controlled purchases of firearms.

Operation Powder Burn/Orange County DA's Office

In December of 2024, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, began working with the Orange County Drug Task Force to investigate Christopher Brown, 40, of Newburgh, and others associated with him, who were allegedly engaging in narcotics and cocaine trafficking.

Using extensive surveillance, reviewing records, and undercover police officers, investigators said they learned that Brown and his associates were not only selling drugs but also selling illegal firearms.

After 55 controlled gun buys were conducted by police, the District Attorney applied for an eavesdropping warrant that was closely monitored by the law enforcement agencies. The purpose of the eavesdropping warrant "was to identify who was supplying the firearms and to ensure that none of the illegally trafficked guns reached the streets." Police found that the guns were primarily coming from Georgia, with some coming from Pennsylvania, and some being received by Brown from others within the City of Newburgh.

On July 30, 2025, two Orange County District Attorney Office criminal investigators joined federal agents from the ATF, and Georgia police in aiding in the execution of a search warrant at the residence of Dijoun Lawrence and Shorna Witter.

Both were charged with felonies in Orange County, for allegedly engaging in a conspiracy to send firearms to Brown, so that they can be trafficked in Newburgh.

132 South Street, Newburgh, NY/Google street view

The District Attorney said Brown often allegedly trafficked both guns and narcotics at 132 South Street in the City of Newburgh.

"Based on the sheer number of handguns obtained through the controlled purchases and the information obtained through court-ordered eavesdropping, This is the largest gun trafficking case in Orange County history," the DA said.

The investigation revealed that illegal guns being allegedly trafficked by Brown and his associates were likely distributed outside of Newburgh prompting the City of Middletown Police Department and the City of Port Jervis Police Department to join the investigation.

In addition to the 55 firearms purchased by police, undercover officers also purchased over 700 grams combined of cocaine and fentanyl from Brown. The investigation reportedly revealed that the narcotic drugs were allegedly obtained by Brown from his narcotic drug suppliers, Shomaray Lane, 32, of Newburgh, and Ian Dawes, 57, of Queens, NY.

Law enforcement executed a series of search warrants at residences in the City of Newburgh, the Bronx, Poughkeepsie, and Queens which resulted in the recovery of 12 illegal guns, over four ounces of fentanyl, a half kilogram of cocaine and over $65,000 in US currency.

Multi-State, Local and Federal Efforts

The operation was a joint effort by:

the Orange County Drug Task Force (OCDTF),
the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA),
the Orange County Sheriff’s Office,
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives (ATF),
the City of Middletown Police Department,
the City of Port Jervis Police Department,
and the City of Newburgh Police Department.

The District Attorney said the investigation received major assistance from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), the New York State Police Special Investigations Unit, the ATF NYPD Joint Firearms Task Force and the New York City Police Department. Other agencies that provide important assistance in the investigation and apprehension of the defendants charged in the operation were the New York State Police (“NYSP”) - CTIU, NYSP SORT, the United States Marshal��s Service, the Orange County Sheriff’s Special Operations Group, the Town of New Windsor Police Department, the Town of Newburgh Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Georgia State Police, the DeKalb County, Georgia, District Attorney’s Office, the Dekalb County, Georgia, Police Department-SWAT/Gang Unit, the Town of Montgomery Police Department, the Town of Woodbury Police Department, the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, the City of Mount Vernon Police Department, the New York State Air National Guard, and the Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center.

Law enforcement agencies from outside of NYS include: