A second person has been arraigned for the alleged straw purchase of 20 guns from McKean County E-Sales in Smethport.
Rodney D. Doran, 34, of Bradford was arraigned before District Judge Rich Luther and jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail on 14 felonies and one misdemeanor relating to the incidents.
According to the criminal complaint, a state trooper working with the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives opened an investigation into the straw purchase of 23 firearms, 20 of which were purchased at McKean County E-Sales in Smethport by Christina Baker, 38, of Eldred. The investigation began after one of the guns was recovered by Buffalo (N.Y.) Police Department after an incident there.
The complaint outlined the alleged scheme involved, in which Baker would buy the guns from E-Sales for Doran and Leshawn Kimbrough, both felons prohibited from purchasing or owning a firearm.
The state police investigator found the following: On Aug. 17, 2021, Baker bought a .45-caliber pistol; on Aug. 14, 2022, she bought a 9mm pistol; on July 31, 2022, she bought two 9mm pistols; on Nov. 9, 2022, she bought four 9mm pistols; on Nov. 30, 2022, she bought a .45-caliber pistol; on Dec. 16, 2022, she bought a 9mm pistol and a .40-caliber pistol; on Dec. 19, 2022, she bought a 12-gauge and a .380-caliber pistol; on Dec. 21, 2022, she bought a .380 pistol and a 9mm pistol; and on Jan. 2 she bought a .40-caliber pistol, a 9mm pistol and a 5.56-caliber AR-15-style pistol, according to the criminal complaint.
On Jan. 17, Baker was interviewed in Olean, N.Y., by ATF special agents. She was asked about her purchases and whether she still had the guns in her possession. Initially, she said she did, but was unable to provide them to the agents, the complaint states. She eventually confessed to buying the guns for Kimbrough and Doran, the complaint stated.
Baker, who said she was aware the two couldn’t legally buy firearms, gave the agents specific details as to what happened each time she was asked to make a purchase. The two would pick Baker up at her residence and take her to purchase the guns, with the men in control of the money. During the purchases, Kimbrough and Doran would “give her hints on what firearms to purchase,” the complaint stated.
At the time of the transaction, the men would either give Baker the money or place the money directly on the counter of the firearm shop, and she would give the money to the clerk, state police allege. After the purchases, they would leave the store and she would put the guns in the backseat of the vehicle she was picked up in.
Kimbrough and Doran would then drop her off at the residence they picked her up from, and she got out of the car, leaving the guns behind, state police allege.
“It should be noted video surveillance was obtained from McKean County E-Sales … (that) was consistent with Baker’s statements,” the complaint stated.
Baker, Kimbrough and Doran can be observed in one or more of the videos at the time the weapons were purchased.
The investigating trooper spelled out the requirements in Pennsylvania for purchasing firearms. On one of the forms for the state police, there is a “yes or no” question which reads, “Are you the actual buyer of the firearm?” as defined in Pennsylvania law, with a warning stating, “You are not the actual buyer if you are acquiring the firearm on behalf of another person” unless it is legitimately a gift for a spouse, parent, child or grandparent.
A second form, for the ATF, asks a similar question. Baker noted “yes” on both forms, the complaint stated.
The trooper noted, “The purchase of multiple firearms, sometimes on the same day, some of the same exact type, purchased in a short amount of time, along with several other factors, is a strong indicator of straw purchasing, illegal transfer of firearms and criminal activity.
“Straw purchasing is when a person with a clean background purchases firearms on behalf of a person to conceal the true ownership of the firearm,” the complaint stated.
Doran is scheduled to appear in Central Court on Sept. 14.
Kimbrough, represented by attorney Karen Kuebler of Bellefonte, is in McKean County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. A preliminary hearing in his case is scheduled for Oct. 2 before District Judge Bill Todd.
Charges against Baker are six counts of conspiracy to possess a firearm prohibited, second-degree felonies; five counts of firearm ownership — duty of other persons, second-degree felonies, and one count as a second-degree misdemeanor; sale or transfer of a firearm — unqualified, a third-degree felony; 23 counts of false statement on sale or transfer of firearm, 22 of which were second-degree felonies and one of which was a third-degree felony; and 13 counts of sale or transfer of a firearm — unqualified or ineligible, second-degree felonies.
As of Friday, she had yet to be arraigned on the charges.
