Evergreen Reporter

U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza has sentenced Chrissie Fier Williams, 39, of Kissimmee, to three years and one month in federal prison for smuggling firearms internationally. Williams entered a guilty plea on January 2, 2024.

According to court documents, from January 28, 2021, through October 4, 2022, Williams prepared packages with household items to be sent to Trinidad and Tobago. She concealed numerous firearms, firearm parts, and ammunition inside those packages. To further disguise the contents, she prepared fake shipping manifests and paid "straw shippers" to deliver the packages under their names. The concealed items included completed pistols and AR-style rifles, parts that could be readily assembled into completed guns, extended magazines including a 65-round drum magazine and a 100-round drum magazine, and matching ammunition.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and communities to reduce violent crime and gun violence. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on fostering trust in communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused enforcement priorities strategically, and measuring results.