ATF Gun Tracing Program Helps Solve Case

Federal agents succeeded in using a gun tracing program to deal with a unique web of crime. The crimes involved the use of guns and drugs. The case in question involves a former defense lawyer Tomislav Golik and public defender in Duval County who was involved in the sale of expensive firearms in exchange for cocaine. The trade was mainly conducted with convicted felons, according to a report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.atf logo

Eric Fox who is the AFT Resident-Agent-In-Charge spoke about how the bureau had succeeded in resolving the crime web. He said that as soon as the caliber, make and model of the different weapons were identified, the Bureau had decided to move with haste to remove the weapons from the streets within the shortest time possible.

One of the guns in the Golik case was found to have been stolen from one St. Nicholas home in April 2015. The burglary took place at a time when the homeowners were not in the home. Court records show that Alvin Douglas Gay had attempted to sell the stolen rifle together with cocaine to Golik, who was acting as a confidential informant for ATF. Gay was asking for $1,000. Golik accepted a federal weapon charge while Gay pleaded not guilty to drug and federal weapon charges. He was not charged with the theft of the rifle.

Fox said that the trace that was run on the gun is not enough to conclude whether any violent crimes were committed. According to ATF, there were over 19,000 gun traces that were conducted in 2015 in Florida. The case is an example of an officer breaking an oath which he had sworn to protect. According to records in court, Shaquana Brookins, a sex trafficker hired Golik as a defense attorney for women that she sold for sex and paid him using cocaine.

Golik who had a license as a firearm dealer could also possess firearm automatic weapons. Court records show that Golik admitted to having a drug problem. As his drug problem escalated, it became increasingly difficult for him to retrieve his weapons. In May, he agreed to become an ATF confidential informant. As part of the deal, he would stay sober and also tell ATF of any guns he had placed on Jacksonville’s streets. A search warrant in the case states that Golik did not stay sober as per the agreement. He also did not provide all the information about all the guns he had traded including one that was found at a gas station on Philips Highway during a routine traffic stop.

This firearm and others demonstrated to the ATF the extent of what Golik had done according to ATF agent Mark Mutz. When a vehicle was pulled over by an officer from Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office, the driver was found to be one of Golik’s drug dealers, Lamar Ivory. Inside the vehicle, the officer found a gun that was registered to Golik. He had not reported it stolen.