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NYPD Tracks Gun in Times Square Shootout

NEW YORK, NY – A machine pistol used by a street hustler and aspiring rapper shot dead in a Times Square gunfight was purchased from a Virginia gun shop by a woman who reported it stolen 10 days after she bought it, authorities said.

Raymond Martinez, who wrote songs about staring down cops in Times Square and hawked CDs to tourists, was carrying a stolen Mac-10 pistol and a pocketful of business cards from Virginia gun dealers – including the one where the gun was purchased – when he was killed by a plainclothes officer near the Marriott Marquis hotel, police said. The handgun, which held 30 rounds, jammed after Martinez got off three shots.

Jordan Kelsey-Stewart, 25, bought the weapon Oct. 18 from Dale’s Guns in Powhatan, Va., chief NYPD police spokesman Paul Browne said Friday. Officials with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are trying to find her and are investigating whether she had any connection to Martinez; a telephone listing for her could not immediately be found on Friday.

Police said Kelsey-Stewart reported the gun stolen from her car Oct. 28 in Richmond, Va. It was unclear how Martinez obtained it, and there was some evidence he owned it for only a brief period of time – weeks at most and perhaps just days.

Investigators also were trying to determine whether Martinez had other weapons. They said they found a .22-caliber handgun during a police search of Martinez’s home on Friday.

“We’re actively investigating whether he was involved in purchasing firearms,” Browne said.

Dale Blankenship, who owns Dale’s Guns, said he provided the information about who bought the gun to the ATF earlier Friday. He said Kelsey-Stewart was from the Richmond area, had all the proper identification and passed a background check when she purchased the weapon.

Blankenship said she bought the gun by herself. He didn’t know what happened to the gun after he sold it.

“I have no idea,” he told The Associated Press. “I don’t know how the gun was stolen.”

Martinez, 25, went by the rap name “Ready” and regularly sold CDs for his group, Square Free, in Times Square. He was part of a freelance collection of hawkers who sell self-produced wares on the street.

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