SMETHPORT — Charges against two prior felons accused of having straw purchases of firearms made for them at a Smethport business have been bound to McKean County Court.
Rodney D. Doran, 34, of Bradford, and Leshawn Thomas Kimbrough, 33, of Bolivar, N.Y., will both face charges in the Court of Common Pleas. Kimbrough is charged with conspiracy to possess a firearm prohibited, three counts of possession of a firearm prohibited, and conspiracy at firearm ownership, all second-degree felonies; and one count of conspiracy at firearm ownership, a second-degree misdemeanor. He remains jailed on $250,000 bail and is represented by Bellefonte attorney Karen Kuebler.
Doran is charged with five counts each of conspiracy to possess a firearm prohibited and possession of a firearm prohibited, second-degree felonies; and five counts of conspiracy at firearm ownership-duty of other persons, four of which were second-degree felonies and one of which was a second-degree misdemeanor. He remains jailed on $250,000 bail and is represented by Warren attorney Alan Conn.
Hearings for Doran and Kimbrough were held Monday before District Judge Bill Todd in Smethport, who bound the charges over to court.
The third person involved in the matter is Christina Baker, 38, of Olean, N.Y., who has waived a preliminary hearing at the district judge level, and has waived arraignment at the Court of Common Pleas. She is jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail and is represented by Public Defender Phil Clabaugh.
According to the criminal complaints against Baker, Doran and Kimbrough, on Jan. 5 an investigation was opened by a Pennsylvania State Police trooper assigned to work with the ATF, regarding alleged straw purchases of 23 firearms that occurred from Aug. 17, 2021, to Jan. 17, 2023. Twenty of the firearms were purchased at McKean County E-Sales in Smethport, the state police complaint stated.
The investigation came about when one of the firearms was recovered, after an incident, by the Buffalo (N.Y.) Police Department. That gun was traced back to having allegedly been purchased by Baker.
A review of Baker’s gun purchases at McKean County E-Sales over 16 months showed the purchase of eleven 9mm pistols, two .45-caliber pistols, two .40-caliber pistols, three .380-caliber pistols, a 12-gauge and a 5.56-caliber AR-15-style pistol, the criminal complaints stated.
On Jan. 17, Baker was interviewed in Olean 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 stated. She eventually confessed to buying the guns for Kimbrough and Doran, knowing both were convicted felons, the complaint stated.
Baker 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.
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.
