On Tuesday, Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, and Everytown Law announced that they had filed a lawsuit against three gun shops for allegedly selling dozens of firearms to a straw purchaser who then trafficked the guns to others. A straw purchase occurs when someone illegally buys a firearm on behalf of another person who is most likely prohibited from owning the weapon or doesn’t want their name associated with the transaction.
According to the complaint, the Montgomery County, Maryland, gun shops — Engage Armament, United Gun Shop, and Atlantic Guns — allegedly ignored clear warning signs that Demetrius Minor was straw purchasing 34 pistols over a seven-month period, and “at least nine of those illegally sold weapons have since been recovered at crime scenes in the District and its Maryland suburbs.” Minor was charged with federal gun trafficking charges in December 2022, but the gun shops did not face any accountability at the time.
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Details of the lawsuit
The complaint alleges that one of the gun dealers, Engage Armament, sold Minor at least 25 pistols between April 6 and September 15, 2021. Additionally, “[d]uring this period, Engage Armament, on three different occasions, sold Mr. Minor at least three handguns on the very same day. And on six different occasions, Engage Armament sold Mr. Minor multiple guns within a five-day period.”
To alert law enforcement to possible trafficking attempts, Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) are required to report “multiple sales” — when customers purchase two or more handguns within five consecutive business days — to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
According to the complaint, Minor’s “purchases were also suspicious in that nearly all the guns that Engage Armament sold him were substantially similar and commonplace. Of the twenty-five handguns, eighteen were striker-fired 9mm handguns,” including Glock and Taurus pistols. Further, “[a]ccording to information the ATF compiled from reviewing Engage Armament’s records, Mr. Minor spent ‘in excess of $31,000’ at the store over just five months.”
Minor allegedly purchased five more handguns from United Gun Shop between August 13 and October 5, 2021 — including two Glock 23 pistols and two Century Arms Draco AK-style pistols — and an additional four 9mm Glock and Taurus pistols from Atlantic Guns between August 4 and September 4, 2021. According to the complaint, “The volume, type, and pattern of Mr. Minor’s purchases in such a short period of time was an obvious warning sign that he was purchasing these handguns to transfer to others and not for himself.”
Finally, the complaint notes that Minor transferred most of the guns he purchased to a relative with “prior convictions for serious violent crimes, including felony convictions for armed robbery, accessory after the fact to first-degree murder while armed, and two instances of assault with a dangerous weapon.”
Choosing Profits over Public safety
At a press conference announcing the lawsuit on Tuesday, Attorney General Schwalb said, “All three of these stores ignored the red flags and instead chose to sell guns to Mr. Minor anyway. They made a choice: a choice to put their profits over our public safety. A choice to put their profits over our people.”
In addition to relief related to the harm inflicted on D.C., Maryland, and their residents, the civil lawsuit seeks to force the three defendants to stop engaging in illegal straw sales.