Norristown woman, mother of gun trafficker, draws prison for doing son’s ‘dirty work’
NORRISTOWN — The mother of the mastermind behind a multi-county gun trafficking network has joined her son in prison for facilitating the illegal sale of firearms during a scheme that prosecutors said allowed her to do “the dirty work” her son couldn’t do while he was behind bars.
Tanisha C. Allen, 44, of the 800 block of Smith Street, Norristown, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 2½ to 5 years in the State Correctional Institution at Muncy on charges of corrupt organizations, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, selling firearms to ineligible persons and criminal use of a communication facility in connection with her role in the organization.
The sentence was imposed by Judge Wendy G. Rothstein.
Allen is the mother of Daveese Smith who prosecutors described as one of the “masterminds” of the gun trafficking network that illegally obtained and resold a total of 44 firearms using straw purchase schemes in Montgomery, Berks, Bucks, Lancaster and Philadelphia counties between June 2019 and February 2021.
Smith, 23, also of the Smith Street address, previously was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison for being one of the leaders of the organization.
“While she may not have been one of the original members of the organization she nonetheless facilitated it. Her role largely was facilitating some of the sales that her son had already put into motion,” said Assistant District Attorney Samantha Arena, who prosecuted the case.
Prosecutors alleged Allen even assisted Smith with the illegal activity while he was behind bars after his arrest.
“She was helping the deals go through when they might not otherwise be able to because her son, the person who orchestrated them, was locked up,” Arena alleged. “She was a very savvy businesswoman so when her son needed her to, she stepped in. While her son was in custody, she’s continuing the work of the operation and essentially doing the dirty work her son couldn’t do because he was locked up.”
Detectives uncovered multiple recorded phone conversations that Smith had with Allen at the county jail in December 2020 during which she discussed the illegal sale of firearms.
“Daveese Smith utilized the prison phone system to communicate with his mother, Tanisha Allen, on various aspects of the organization. Tanisha Allen would update Daveese Smith on interactions with members of their customer base,” detectives wrote in court documents.
With the charges, detectives alleged Allen not only was aware of the illegal activity but was an active participant in the gun trafficking organization.
“It is our opinion Daveese Smith instructed his mother to contact one of Daveese Smith’s illegal gun customers to see if that individual wanted to illegally purchase the firearm,” detectives alleged, referring to one interaction. “Daveese Smith directed illegal gun sales to prior customers and regulated the prices. Tanisha Allen then provided this information to their customer base.”
Prosecutors alleged Smith relied on five people, including Allen, several girlfriends and even his grandmother, of Pottstown, to purchase guns or act as middlemen to facilitate straw purchases for the organization.
A straw purchase occurs when someone who is legally allowed to purchase a firearm purchases one and then gives it illegally to someone who is not permitted to purchase that firearm.
Allen, who was represented by defense lawyer Matthew Quigg, was among 14 people charged in February 2021 for their roles in the gun trafficking organization. At the time of the arrests, prosecutors alleged the network illegally obtained and resold firearms using straw purchase schemes and put guns in the hands of those who are not allowed by law to buy their own guns.
Authorities previously said only 13 of the 44 guns had been recovered.
Investigators alleged multiple people purchased firearms on behalf of the gun trafficking organization that was led by several people including Smith and Alexander Aaron Smith, 22, of the 3000 block of Jolly Road, Plymouth Meeting.
Alexander Smith is still awaiting court action on charges for his alleged role in the organization.
The investigation began in 2020 when detectives with the Montgomery County Detective Bureau’s Violent Crime Unit began tracking the multiple purchases of firearms by some of the conspirators through the state’s Electronic Record of Sale (EROS) system and by reviewing state and federal gun purchase paperwork at gun stores. Detectives also used surveillance, interviews, information from law enforcement agencies, cellphone data and social media analysis to identify the suspects.
“One illegal purchasing spree conducted by members of this organization yielded nine handguns in eight days,” according to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective Jeffrey Koch, Montgomery Township Detective Todd Walter and state police Trooper Brian Kedra. “The purpose of this corrupt organization was to illegally obtain and distribute numerous firearms to others.”
During the investigation, the Montgomery County Violent Crime Unit was assisted by the Montgomery Township Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Plymouth Township Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Norristown Police Department, FBI, Bucks and Montgomery County Safe Streets Task Force, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force, Pottstown Police Department, Hatfield Township Police Department and Berks County Detectives.
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