Man Sentenced For Illegal Gun Purchases Linked To Crimes

Darryl Kaheim Baker. Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office

A Philadelphia man was sentenced Monday for the “straw purchase” of 23 guns, some of which were recovered at crime scenes or in the hands of ineligible individuals.

Darryl Kaheim Baker, 29, received the sentence on Monday of 10 to 20 years in state prison from Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Wallace Bateman after pleading guilty to multiple firearms-related charges, including 23 counts each of making false statements on firearm purchase forms and criminal conspiracy, as well as individual counts of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, firearm ownership – duty of other persons, and illegal sales of firearms to an ineligible transferee, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

Baker was arrested in November 2023 following an investigation spanning two years.

The probe found that from January 2019 through December 2020, Baker bought 23 handguns from gun stores across Bucks County and Philadelphia. A total of 19 of the guns were purchased in Bucks County shops in Bristol Township, Upper Southampton Township, Lower Southampton Township, and Warminster Township, authorities said.

Investigators reported that eight of the firearms bought in Bucks County were later found in Philadelphia. Several were discovered with individuals prohibited from possessing guns, while others were left at crime scenes throughout the city.

Authorities said one gun was found with an altered serial number and another equipped with an illegal Glock Switch, converting it to fully automatic.

Kaheim was a so-called straw purchaser, prosecutors alleged.

“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 involved the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Montgomery County Detective Bureau, and the Philadelphia Police Department.