NORFOLK, Va. (WRIC) — A Chesapeake man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for conspiracy to make false statements in connection with 45 firearm transactions.
According to the Department of Justice, 24-year-old Kevin Staton Jr. bought and sold 45 guns without a license for about a year, from June 2019 through June 2020. He made false official statements on forms with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in order to purchase them. The release states that while Staton claimed he was the actual buyer of the firearms, but, in truth, he was purchasing the firearms for other individuals or with the intent to quickly resell them. Staton would coordinate with co-conspirators to identify guns for purchase through online marketplaces.
When Staton, a two-time All-American college football player, was interviewed by ATF agents, the release states he told them, “Guns are like money.”
Several guns that Staton was convicted of trafficking were recovered throughout the country in connection to homicides, shootings and in the possession of convicted felons.
