Lawrence Higgs and Tariq Haywood-Echols
Introduction
Lawrence Higgs and Tariq Haywood-Echols are two men from Portsmouth, Virginia who were sentenced in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey for trafficking firearms and machinegun conversion devices. Higgs, 37, received 150 months in prison plus three years of supervised release; Haywood-Echols, 32, received 121 months plus three years of supervised release. Both men pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch, and both sentencings were announced together by U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer. Their cases ran in parallel from the same investigation to the same courthouse, but ended on different counts and different terms.
Background Information
Both men were previously convicted of felony offenses, a status that made it unlawful for either of them to possess a firearm. Beginning in July 2024, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), together with state and local law enforcement agencies, initiated an investigation into Higgs and Haywood-Echols for firearms trafficking. Over the following year, investigators moved from watching the two Portsmouth men to buying from them directly, building the record of controlled purchases that anchors the federal case against them.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Convicted and sentenced. Lawrence Higgs and Tariq Haywood-Echols pleaded guilty to federal firearms trafficking and machinegun charges and were sentenced to 150 and 121 months in prison, respectively, in September 2026.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Higgs and Haywood-Echols sold firearms to an individual knowing that the individual was a convicted felon and intended to resell the weapons to subsequent purchasers. During the ATF-led investigation, law enforcement conducted multiple controlled purchases from the pair, recovering more than a dozen firearms, more than a dozen machinegun conversion devices (MCDs), and substantial quantities of ammunition. MCDs are themselves classified as machineguns by statute and “are capable of converting semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons,” releasing multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger. On September 10, 2025, officers arrested both men as they attempted another firearms sale; when officers announced their presence, Higgs fled and was apprehended approximately one block away, with ammunition in his pocket.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The sentencings landed days apart in September 2026: Higgs on September 16, 2026, to 150 months in prison and three years of supervised release, and Haywood-Echols on September 22, 2026, to 121 months in prison and three years of supervised release. U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced both results, crediting special agents of the ATF Newark Field Division under Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office under Prosecutor John P. McDonald, and the New Jersey State Police under Acting Superintendent Jeanne Hengemuhle. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Belgiovine and Richard Shephard of the Criminal Division in Trenton; David Schafer, Esq. defended Higgs, and F.R. “Chip” Dunne, III, Esq. defended Haywood-Echols.
Current Status
Both men are now serving the prison terms imposed by Judge Kirsch, each to be followed by three years of supervised release. Higgs pleaded guilty to a four-count Superseding Information charging conspiracy to traffic firearms, engaging in unlicensed firearms dealing, unlawful possession of machine guns, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon; Haywood-Echols pleaded guilty to a three-count Superseding Information charging conspiracy to traffic firearms, engaging in unlicensed firearms dealing, and unlawful possession of machine guns. The case is part of Operation Take Back America, the Department of Justice initiative targeting cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and violent crime.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The convictions leave each man with a federal record that now includes firearms trafficking conspiracy, unlicensed dealing, and machinegun possession, stacked on top of their earlier felony histories. Both will spend more than a decade in federal prison, then three years of supervised release, with convictions that bar them from ever again possessing a firearm. The operation that fed guns into an illegal resale chain is gone, its wares — the firearms, the conversion devices, the ammunition — recovered by law enforcement before they could move further.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, “Two Virginia Men Sentenced for Firearms Trafficking, Possession of Machine Guns and Related Offenses” — source