AG Sues Three Gun Stores for Alleged “Straw Purchases” of Trafficked Guns in DC

Three gun stores that sold nearly three dozen firearms to a man who trafficked guns in and around Washington, DC, are facing a new lawsuit filed jointly Tuesday by the attorneys general in Maryland and the nation’s capital.

At least nine of those guns have now been found at crime scenes and or with people wanted on violent felony warrants, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb said. Many of the others are still unaccounted for.

“Our city is flooded with illegal guns,” he said. “All three of these stores ignored the red flags.”

Washington, DC has struggled with gun violence in recent years. The nation’s capital saw its highest number of homicides in more than three decades last year, and more than 90 percent of those were committed with firearms, the lawsuit said.

“Many of us watch the news and wonder where all these guns are coming from,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown. “Now we have part of the answer.”

In Washington, the gun supply is often fueled by people buying guns for others who can’t legally own them, Schwalb said. About 95 percent of guns recovered in Washington, D.C., which has strict gun laws, originally came from nearby Maryland or Virginia, Schwalb said. While some of those are stolen guns, more come from illegal straw sales, according to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives firearms investigation data.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and court action to stop any future straw purchases.

The lawsuit is the first to be filed jointly and comes as cities and states across the country file civil lawsuits against gun stores, including in New Jersey, Minnesota, Chicago and Philadelphia. Kansas City also settled a lawsuit last year against a gun dealer accused of ignoring evidence that guns were being sold illegally.

Licensed firearms dealers work with the ATF to identify possible straw purchases, said Larry Keane, senior vice president at the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry group. Still, he said the warning signs may not always be obvious in busy stores, where a shopper might encounter different employees on different days.

“The focus should be on the actions of the criminal, not on trying to scapegoat retailers who do their best every day to try to prevent straw purchases,” he said, pointing to a survey in 2016 by the Justice Department on people in prison, which found a relatively small number. number received firearms from a retail source.

The new lawsuit, filed with gun safety group Everytown Law, accuses Maryland stores of failing to respond to warning signs, including bulk and repeat purchases.

The three stores sold a total of nearly three dozen similar guns to Demetrius Minor over a seven-month period in 2021, the lawsuit states. Almost all were trafficked to others, including people who are not legally allowed to buy firearms, the lawsuit alleges. One gun, for example, was found in a D.C. hotel room along with an illegal high-capacity load, and another gun was found at the home of a stabbed suspect, the lawsuit states.

Minor pleaded guilty to one count of dealing in unlicensed firearms last year in a deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. An attorney representing Minor could not immediately be reached for comment.

One store, Atlantic Guns, Inc., said it “never and will never knowingly sell to a person we have reason to believe is making a straw purchase.” Another, United Gun Shop, declined immediate comment, and a third, Engage Armament LLC, did not immediately respond.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and court action to stop any future straw purchases.

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