Story by Ethan
On September 12th, 2025, the arrest of Teddy Gaston and Jezerel Huston, ages 39 and 41, was announced by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Teddy Gaston and Jezerel Huston were charged on a 194 count indictment including Criminal Sale of a Firearm, Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Criminal Sale of a Ghost Gun, Unlawful Possession of Pistol Ammunition, Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance, Conspiracy, and several other unspecified charges. The arrest and charges against Teddy Gaston and Jezerel Huston were a result of an investigation handled by [Officers/Detectives].
According to the Queens District Attorney’s Office, during March 2025 an investigation into firearms trafficking involving the two defendants was pursued alongside the New York Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. Allegedly Jezerel Huston would produce firearms in Georgia, transport them to Teddy Gaston in New York, to be sold in Queens. An undercover officer was able to successfully conduct eight purchases from the defendants between April 7th and August 29th. The deals that transpired were commonly carried out in a McDonald’s parking lot on Merrick Boulevard and 244th Street in Rosedale, New York, and the undercover cop was able to recover; 59 firearms including seven assaults and one ghost gun, 98 fentanyl pills, approximately 100 grams of cocaine, several rounds of different types of ammunition. The majority of the weapons sold to the undercover cop contained high-capacity magazines and some of them were defaced.
On one occasion Teddy Gaston allegedly met with the undercover cop for a sale at the usual McDonald’s location before relocating to 135th Street in Rosedale, New York, with Teddy Gaston saying that the guns are “around the corner”. Teddy Gaston received $4,300 for this sale and gave the officer his car keys as collateral. After a short period of time it’s alleged that Teddy Gaston left shortly to retrieve a knapsack he later gave the officer, the bag containing a defaced handgun and five other handguns with high-capacity magazines.
Allegedly Teddy Gaston and Jezerel Huston were seen on video surveillance footage with a red suitcase with wheels in the surrounding area of the McDonald’s parking lot meeting location. The defendants were observed putting the suitcase into the vehicle’s trunk before driving to the McDonald’s parking lot to meet the undercover officer. After meeting up Teddy Gaston allegedly moved the suitcase from the defendants’ vehicle into the undercover’s vehicle before sitting in the front passenger seat and exchanging 98 fentanyl pills for a price of $9,800. Inside the suitcase were eight firearms of which included one assault rifle and a ghost gun with a switch that gives it the capabilities of a machine gun.
Both defendants were located and arrested on September 9th at the intersection of 241st Street and Merrick Boulevard while they were allegedly on their way to a pre-planned firearms transaction. During the arrest an additional 18 firearms, including one assault rifle were seized by the NYPD, HSI, and the Suffolk County Police.
The Queens District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Teddy Gaston and Jezerel Huston are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
