Bristol Twp. Man Sentenced Up To 20 Years For Illegal Gun Purchases

A 25-year-old Bristol Township man has been sentenced years in a state correctional institution for illegally selling firearms, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office announced last Friday.

Cody Kirk McInnis pleaded guilty to multiple charges in August, including 12 felony counts of making false statements on firearm purchase forms, 11 counts of firearm ownership – duty of other persons, 11 counts of filing false reports, and two counts of criminal conspiracy.

Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Wallace Bateman Jr. handed down a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison. He also ordered McInnis not to possess or own firearms and ammunition.

During the sentencing last Friday, McInnis admitted to selling the firearms he purchased but claimed he could not recall the buyers, according to prosecutors.

“A straw purchase is the illegal buying of a gun by an individual, a ‘straw buyer,’ on behalf of such a person,” according to a definition from federal law enforcement.

The investigation found that between July 1, 2021, and October 5, 2021, McInnis made straw purchases at gun stores in Bristol Township and Middletown Township.

Investigators determined that McInnis falsely stated he was buying the firearms for himself, ultimately purchasing 11 firearms and one rifle lower receiver, authorities said.

Several of these firearms have since been recovered under suspicious circumstances or from individuals prohibited from owning them, authorities said.

The probe also revealed that McInnis falsely claimed to have sold some firearms back to gun stores and reported one stolen, but none of that was substantiated by the investigation.

The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Newark Field Division was assisted by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau’s Violent Crime Unit, the Trenton Police Department, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office’s Gun Violence Task Force in this comprehensive investigation.

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