Criminals obtaining guns through straw purchases

Ask folks where criminals get guns and you’ll hear a popular response, “oh in the streets,”  “robberies and theft.” 

They’re right; just not for the majority of gun crimes. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms only about ten to fifteen percent of guns used in crimes are in fact stolen. The most common way guns get in the hands of criminals is through straw purchases.

Lieutenant Tim Robinson, with the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office says, “A straw purchase is when somebody buys the gun with the intent of transferring it or selling it to somebody else.”

A representative with ATF tells 47 ABC straw purchases are tough to follow because once a gun is bought and registered legally that’s the end of the tracking process.

Law enforcement only know about a straw purchase if they make an arrest. So far in 2015, the state of Maryland has made nine arrests.

In early April, a Chestertown man was sentenced to ten years in prison after buying 6 guns from a middle-man.    

Robinson says, “The most dangerous aspect of straw purchase is the fire arm finding its way into the hands of someone that’s a prohibited person.”

Lieutenant Tim Robinson says a common place it happens is gun shows where criminals will stake out looking for someone willing to buy them a weapons.

He says law enforcement is watching. Selling a gun to someone who hasn’t been convicted of a crime can mean five years in prison and a ten-thousand dollar fine.

However, if the final buyer has been convicted Robinson says, “The penalty then goes up to ten years incarceration and a twenty five thousand dollar fine.”