PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Federal officials have indicted a Philadelphia woman on straw purchasing charges involving nearly 20 guns.
Authorities say Sharon Jones, 44, faces one count of dealing in firearms without a license and six counts of making false statements to a federal firearms licensee during the purchase of firearms.
She allegedly bought 19 firearms from a store in Warminster, Bucks County, and then turned around and tried to resell the guns for a profit.
The arrest was part of the federal All Hands on Deck initiative, which is aimed at taking illegal guns off the street.
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If convicted, she could face up to 35 years in prison.
“The purpose of our ‘All Hands On Deck’ initiative is, first and foremost, to prevent violent crime, which includes targeting for prosecution prolific straw firearms purchasers,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams in a statement.
“This defendant’s alleged actions certainly fit that description. By charging crimes like straw purchasing of firearms, where firearms are purchased in order to turn them over to people who are prohibited from legally buying or possessing them, we can cut off the supply of illegal weapons at the source.”
Stay with KYW Newsradio on-air and online for more details on this breaking story as they come in to us.
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