Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
A Philadelphia man was arrested for the alleged illegal straw purchases of 16 firearms from gun stores in Bucks, Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware counties, according to authorities.
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Deon Lamont Hudson, 25, of Philadelphia, was charged with 39 counts of unlawful sale or transfer of a firearm and conspiracy to commit of unlawful sale or transfer of a firearm. He was taken into custody in Philadelphia last Friday and preliminarily arraigned by District Judge Frank Peranteau Sr. and sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $200,000 bail.
The arrest came after a joint operation between the Bucks County Detectives, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Authorities said Hudson bought 16 9-mm firearms at eight different locations across Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and Delaware counties between August 2020 and November 2021.
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The investigation found Hudson would then transfer the purchased guns to others who were not legally able to buy firearms, authorities said.
Two of the guns were found on teenagers in Philadelphia within 50 days of purchase, and one of those guns were traced to two shootings in the city, law enforcement officials said.
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Below is information from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office:
Investigators obtained an extensive, but not exhaustive, list of all guns purchased by Hudson and found he purchased all 9-mm handguns, including seven in a two-week span in August 2021. He purchased two of the guns in a suspicious transaction from Johnston’s Sporting Goods in Croydon, Bristol Township.
Investigators used data to discover the straw purchases, including the purchase of guns within days and sometimes weeks from each other from various gun dealers located in several different counties; the purchase of the same make, model, and caliber of firearm; and a lack of stolen gun reports.
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“Illegal firearms purchases like the ones this prolific straw firearms purchaser has repeatedly made are often linked to other, violent, gun crimes,” District Attorney Matt Weintraub said. “By putting him out of commission and out of illegal commerce, we have undoubtedly saved lives.”
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said data and intelligence from the office’s Track and Trace program helped in the investigation.
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“Purchasing a gun for someone who isn’t legally able to carry one is a crime that often leads to shootings and murders. This case shows how guns travel illegally across county lines and end up being used in violent crimes in Philadelphia,” Shapiro said.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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