Philly man sentenced to 10-20 years in prison for straw purchasing 20 firearms
A Philadelphia man was sentenced today to 10 to 20 years in state prison for the straw purchase of 20 firearms.
Jawone Shakour Williams, 33, pleaded guilty Monday before Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley to 59 counts of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, making false statements on firearm purchase forms, illegal sales of a firearm and illegal sales of firearms to an ineligible transferee. All the counts are felonies.
Williams was arrested in 2024 following a multi-agency investigation that uncovered a three-year scheme of illegal gun trafficking.
The investigation, a joint effort by the Bucks County Detectives, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and other regional law enforcement, began in October 2023. It revealed that between July 2019 and March 2022, Williams purchased 20 handguns from licensed dealers in Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Delaware, and Lehigh counties. Of those guns, 19 were purchased between June 2021 and March 2022.
