The Long Beach Police Department seized more than 20 guns, large quantities of drugs and more than $100,000 in a raid last Friday in collaboration with the FBI and Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
Charles Burns, 34, was arrested at his home on Rev. JJ Evans Boulevard, in Long Beach, after what was described as a months-long investigation.
Authorities said they recovered 23 firearms, including two so-called ghost guns — homemade weapons without serial numbers — along with “large amounts” of cocaine, fentanyl, ecstasy, heroin, methamphetamine and miscellaneous pills. Investigators also recovered high-capacity magazines and roughly 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
Acting Long Beach Police Commissioner Richard DePalma, FBI Special Agent in Charge Mike Ratta and Donnelly spoke at a news conference on Monday.
“We operate on intelligence that we get from the community and from our officers on the street,” DePalma said. “It was indicated to us that this person was dealing drugs in our community, so we did reach out to our law enforcement partners.”
Burns faces 59 gun- and drug-related charges. County prosecutors allege that he possessed more than 230 grams of cocaine, nearly 536 grams of methamphetamine, 15 grams of fentanyl, more than 13 grams of ecstasy and a large quantity of miscellaneous pills and drug packaging materials.
Burns pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Nassau District Court in Mineola last Saturday, and was held without bail.
“With school starting in just a couple days, this is a significant investigation,” DePalma said. “This collaboration between Long Beach Department, Nassau County Police Department, the district attorney’s office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation … is going to make Long Beach much safer.”
Burns’s arrest is the 25th drug- and gun-related arrest since the city reinstated its narcotics task force in February 2025, according to city officials. The task force had been disbanded in 2021.
In a news release, City Councilman Mike Reinhart thanked the agencies involved in the investigation.
“These investigations save lives and lead to a safer community,” Reinhart said. “Their success is a direct result of important crime fighting initiatives, like our newly re-instated narcotics task force.”
Donnelly said this was not the first time she had been involved in an arrest on Rev. JJ Evans Boulevard. In August 2024, Donnelly announced the arrest of then-34-year-old James Jaushaun Evans for allegedly selling 10 illegal guns, including a ghost gun, between April and July of that year. The guns were traced to shootings in Nassau County and Queens that had occurred as early as 2021.
In the most recent case, Donnelly said, “Every single one of these 23 illegal guns that were seized in this operation represent countless robberies prevented, innumerable shootings stopped, and who knows how many lives saved. We will not allow these illegal weapons to get to our streets and harm anyone who lives in Nassau County.”
Ratta explained that Long Beach police had requested the FBI’s assistance in March, acting on the suspicion that Burns was operating a narcotics distribution network in Long Beach. The FBI provided operational assistance, Ratta said, including its Computer Analysis Response Team, which recovers, analyzes and processes computer and electronic evidence for criminal investigations.
Donnelly said that Burns had previously been convicted of a felony involving drugs and illegal guns. People who possess caches of guns, she said, often sell or lend them to other people who commit crimes.
If convicted of the most serious charges, Burns faces up to 25 years in prison. Authorities said they are investigating whether the guns were trafficked from outside New York or used in previous crimes.
At Burns’ second appearance in court on Tuesday, he was represented by the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County. His next court appearance is Sept. 9.
As of press time, the investigation was continuing.
“Removing illegal guns and dangerous drugs ensures that our streets, neighborhoods and schools remain safe,” DePalma wrote in a statement. “The cooperation of our partners in law enforcement, dedicated and professional police work, a new narcotics task force, and high-tech crime fighting tools — we are proud of the team effort that went into this successful joint operation.”